A Break In Time
by Vamir the Traveler
Summary: Rated for Violence, Language, and Adult Content. After the retrieval of Sasuke Naruto learns the truth of his heritage. The Uchiha leaves again and Naruto sets off on his training only to return 3 years later with some new skills and a secret. Naru/Hina
1. Retrieval and All Is Revealed

A/N: This is just a little something. I have another Fan-Fiction that I'm working on but its coming along extremely slowly. This chapter is long and I really doubt that future chapters will be this long (probably closer to 4-5k words) and I don't know how long it will take to get the chapters out. The main pairing is Naru/Hina. However, later on, there could be other pairings (Neji/Ten, Shika/Tem, Ino/Cho, Sasu/Saku) which would have various levels of exposure.

I have just a vague idea for this story and plan on developing it over time. There are certain things that will happen because I want them too. However, if someone suggest something for this story and I like it I'm not against adding it to the story. Also, I reserve the right to kill anyone at any time in this fic, and I do mean ANYONE. Like I said, I have a vague idea and it could change down the road.

This will be a cross over fic but I will try to incorporate the cross overs into the Naruto world as best I can. Also, while Naruto will be strong, this will not be a "I was trained by (insert name here from another anime) and now I can and will blow up the world!" or some such thing. This means some cross overs (like Dragon Ball/Z/GT or any futuristic one) will be out of the question. The ones that might appear would be shows like Kenshin (most likely will) or Bleach (I have a possible plan, but only if I kill someone important).

Also, this will be AU since it will involve cross overs. If you don't like it, tough. Go read another one or my other, more serious, one. However, this one will be updated more often than the other.

**Chapter 1: Retrieval and All is Revealed.**

Sakura was standing by the gate waiting impatiently for the return of Naruto and Sasuke. The others had already returned. Suddenly she could see Naruto, along with Kakashi returning. On Kakashi's back was an unconscious Sasuke who looked badly beaten.

Smiling weakly, Naruto looked up at Sakura and was about to speak when the words died on his lips. Sakura looked angry and was glaring at him.

"What did you do to him dobe! You were supposed to bring him back, not kill him!" shouted Sakura as she rushed to Sasuke.

Naruto was confused, but was slowly starting to get angry. "What?? But... I brought him back!? I promised I'd bring him back to you to make you happy and thats what I did!"

Sakura wheeled about and looked ready to kill. "I told you to bring him back and instead you go out there and beat him and try to kill him. Kakashi had to bring him back and probably had to stop you from killing him! Its no wonder the villagers hate you!"

Naruto looked as though he had been struck, and hard. He stood there for a moment before Kakashi broke him from his thoughts. "Sakura, I'm only caring Sasuke because Nar..."

"No." Naruto cut him off. "You don't need to defend me Kakashi-sensei." Naruto looked angry but at the same time his eye's held great sadness. "I know when I'm not wanted." With that Naruto started heading back to his apartment.

Off in the shadow a young, pale eyed girl stood shocked. She couldn't believe what she had heard Sakura saying. Seeing Naruto take off she decided to follow. _'Naruto-kun... I want you...'_ She decided right their to tell Naruto how she felt.

She got to his apartment only a few minutes after Naruto. Standing in front of his door, she slowly reached a hand up and knocked softly. After a second of not getting a response she was about to give up with the door suddenly flew open and Naruto stood there with anger and annoyance on his face. Seeing her though his face softened and became that of confusion.

"Hinata... What are you doing here?" Why was Hinata here? Was something wrong with Neji? "Does it have to do with Neji?"

Hinata, who had been staring at the ground, jerked her head up and looked at him. "Ano... No-o it h-has to d-d-do with y-you... I-I w-w-was waiting b-by the g-gate f-f-for your return... And I h-heard S-Sakura y-yell a-at y-y-you and..." Hinata blushed and went silent looking at the ground again.

Naruto was not completely confused. When she mentioned waiting at the gate he thought she must have been waiting to see Sasuke. But then she mentioned hearing Sakura yell and seemed upset about it. He had no idea what to do or what to say. Suddenly Hinata took a step towards him and raised a hand. Naruto flinched slightly expecting to be struck when the hand gently touched his check and started to rub his whisker marks.

Hinata seemed to be off in her own little dream land though and was totally oblivious to the look of extreme confusion on her loves face. Realizing what she had done she quickly retracted the hand. It took all the strength she had to not faint after realizing what she had done.

"Ano Naruto-kun... W-When you s-said that y-you k-k-knew when you w-weren't w-w-wanted... W-Well I j-just wanted t-t-to l-let you k-k-know that y-you a-a-are wanted..." Hinata was blushing madly now and ready to faint, but did all that she could not to. She wanted to say this... No. She needed to say this. "Iwantandneedyou!" Hinata said it so fast Naruto wasn't sure what he heard.

"Hinata? Did you just say you wanted and needed me?" Naruto was confused and had a very slight blush. Deep down he hoped that she would say yes, but he refused to let himself hope for that. After all, who would want him?

Nodding slightly and still resisting the urge to pass out Hinata took a deep breath before continuing. "Naruto-kun... I've wanted to s-s-say that for a l-long time..." Still looking into Naruto's eyes, Hinata finally dug up the courage to say everything. "Naruto-kun, you are the strongest p-person I've e-e-ever known... Ever since I f-first saw you at the Academy I've known t-that... Y-You always got looked down u-upon b-b-but never gave up... I admired you for that..." She paused again and placed her hand on his check and used her thumb to wipe away a single tear that had fallen. "I k-knew that m-m-most of the village treated you poorly... I used to f-follow y-y-you sometimes just so I could s-see you... I saw the looks... And h-heard the whispers..." Hinata couldn't contain it anymore. She broke out into tears.

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. He was feeling to many things at once and was confused by his own emotions. Pain and sadness for Hinata who was obviously upset by his treatment. Anger, at himself, that she would follow him around without him realizing it. Most importantly though, happiness. Someone wanted him... But it could never be. He knew that as soon as she knew his secret she would be just like the others. Still, he wanted to comfort her.

Hinata let out a small 'Eep' as she suddenly found herself in Naruto's arms. Still crying a little she leaned into his shoulder, no longer caring that it was Naruto that she was so closed to. She refused to give into her own weakness anymore. Slowly she looked up into Naruto's eyes and could see the pain and the happiness he was feeling at the same time. Hinata wasn't done though, so she continued while still in his embrace.

In nothing more than a whisper, "I know your secret Naruto-kun." She could feel him tense up. Still using hushed tones she continued. "I followed you after the graduation and watched you practice when Iruka-sensei showed up. I saw and heard everything that night. I even saw Iruka-sensei stand up to Mizuki for you..." She then placed a calming hand on his cheek since Naruto had started to breath rapidly and was still tense. In an even more hushed tone, so soft that Naruto almost couldn't hear it she continued. "Naruto-kun, I n-n-never thought you were a monster... I k-know that you p-p-protect us f-from one... I love you..."

Naruto couldn't believe what he had just heard. He was having to strain to hear her by the end and thus thought his ears must be playing tricks on him. His grip on her relaxed before his arms finally fell to his sides completely numb. "You... you... l-l-l-l-love..." Naruto's brain stopped and he just stood there sputtering.

As luck had it Kakashi had appeared at this time looking for Naruto. He had wanted to apologize for Sakura's behavior earlier. What he saw stunned him. Naruto was standing there, sputtering slightly in a daze with Hinata trying to wake him. "What happened?" he was very worried. At first he thought that Hinata must of done something to him, until he noticed the concern in her eyes.

"I'm n-n-not sure... I was t-talking to him w-w-when..." she trailed off, not able to continue.

Kakashi eyed her carefully before taking Naruto into his arms. "I'm taking Naruto to the hospital. He needs to be checked out after the mission and now to see what is wrong now." Kakashi turned to go. "I want you to come with me and I will send word for your dad to meet us there."

Hinata nodded meekly before following him as he sped towards the hospital. _'Why does he want to talk to my father?... Oh no! What if father finds out about what I said to Naruto!... He would probably make me stay away from him... I couldn't take that!'_ Hinata was now in a panic. Telling Naruto was one thing, but confronting her father! She didn't think she could do that...

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Later that evening Naruto was resting quietly in a hospital room. He had stopped sputtering and drifted off not long after being brought in. Currently Kakashi, along with Hinata and Tsunade, were waiting for Hiashi to show up. After about another hour of waiting he finally arrived outside Naruto's room.

Hiashi eyed everyone there. He had already heard about the mission and its results. He had been so late in arriving because he had went to see Neji first. However, if he had known the Hokage was going to be there he would have hurried and been there much sooner.

Tsunade spoke first breaking the silence. "Hyuuga-san, if you would please follow me, we are going into an empty patient room to discuss some things."

Hiashi nodded his head ever so slightly and followed as Tsunade let them into a room beside Naruto's. Once they were in and a seal had been placed on the door by Kakashi making the walls sound proof Hiashi turned to Tsunade and spoke. "Hokage-sama, I was not expecting you here tonight. I am sorry for the lateness of my arrival. Though I am intrigued to know why I was called here by Hatake-san and not yourself."

"That is simple Hyuuga-san, he called me here as well." Tsunade hated all the formalities with Hiashi but knew it was of the only ways to keep him calm and make him listen.

Nodding, he turned to Kakashi. "Well, Hatake-san, what is it that you have called me and the Hokage-sama here for?"

Kakashi looked and Hinata and then back to the two adults. He then proceeded to tell them of the events at the gate and how he had found Hinata at Naruto's apartment. Hiashi was frowning slightly by the end of it. Tsunade spotted this and spoke before anyone else could at the end.

"Hinata-chan, would you please tell use everything that was said and happened while at Naruto's?" asked the Hokage in as nice a voice as possible. She figured though that she already knew what would be said. With the description of Naruto when he was found with her, it would be one of only two things. And Tsunade knew it was good.

Blushing madly and stuttering the entire way thru the story she told them of what had happened and what was said. By the end of it she was speaking in barely more than a whisper and seemed to have shrunk just standing there. Hiashi wasn't pleased. While it was true that the laws allowed her to see anyone she wanted, they also allowed the clans to use arranged marriages between themselves. While she currently wasn't set to be in one he had planned on putting her into one if she hadn't been able to find someone suitable by her 15th birthday. And the one she found was most certainly not suitable.

Seeing the look in Hiashi's eye Tsunade spoke up. "Hyuuga-san, does your clan always follow thru on all of its agreements?"

Hiashi turned to the Hokage, wondering what she was getting at before responding. "Hai, Hokage-sama, we always honor our agreements unlike some clans."

Nodding, Tsunade continued. "Good. What I'm about to tell you is an SS-class secret only known to 2 people still living. The punishment for which is not only your death but the death of those you told. Do all of you hear agree to these terms?" She looked to Hiashi and Kakashi and got nods from both of them before setting her gaze on Hinata. "What about you Hinata-chan? Do you agree to these terms?"

Hinata jerked slightly hearing her name and looked up. She had been expecting to be removed from the room, not let in on the secret. Why would they let her know? She gave a small nod to Tsunade.

"Good. Since you already know one secret about Naruto it is only fitting you know the whole truth, along with you two." She gestured at the two men, both of which looked confused. "Uzumaki Naruto wasn't chosen at random. Only three people knew who his parents were and thus why he was chosen." Tsunade sighed heavily before continuing. "Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and myself were the only ones that knew the truth, the entire truth of that night. I think after you this Hiashi you might reconsider your view of Naruto. You might also consider keep a promise you made to the Yondaime that night."

Hiashi took this pause to speak for a moment. "Hokage-sama, but I do not harbor any ill will towards the boy. I do not know of what view you are speaking of in regards to him. Also, I do not think it wise to share such an important secret with my daughter." He was about to gesture for Hinata to leave when Tsunade stopped him.

"First, she has already agreed to the terms as a kunoichi of the village and has already heard to much." Hiashi look upset but decided to not argue with the Hokage. "Second, its a view you share with Kakashi to some extent only it is worse with you. Both of you, while never wishing harm on the Naruto, did him harm thru inaction. You though Hiashi are worse yet. Though you never have lifted a finger to harm or help Naruto, I could see the small reaction in your face while Hinata-chan was talking. You disapprove of him. I wonder how many times you laid eyes on him and Naruto felt pain. Not because of hate, but because of the cold, emotionless, non-caring look. I pity you."

Kakashi lowered his head at this. He knew it was true. Ever since he had been put in charge of Naruto he had started to regret not doing more for the child. Hiashi though was upset. How dare this women judge him! He didn't care if she was the Hokage or not, who was she that she thought he needed pity. His eyes started to narrow with his anger.

"Hiashi, you will not like what I'm about to tell you. Naruto's mothers name was Uzumaki Kushina. She died shortly after giving birth to Naruto during the Kyuubi attack. I was the one to deliver him." She paused to observe their reactions. Kakashi's visible eye had bugged out and his mouth was obviously hanging open slightly beneath his mask. Hiashi though still looked angry at first. Then, what was said seemed to have an impact. Hiashi's eyes just ever so slightly widened. "I can see that both of you understand. Uzumaki was her maiden name, used to keep Naruto safe so that his fathers enemies wouldn't come after him for revenge with his father gone."

With that Hiashi broke down and fell to his knee's crying repeating one simple phrase. "I didn't know..."

Hinata looked at the scene in front of her and was confused. So his mother was Uzumaki Kushina, was she someone important that she should have known of? Seeing her confusion Tsunade turned to face her directly and addressed Hinata. "Uzumaki Kushina, Naruto's mother, was Namikaze Minato's wife. They had been married for one year when the Kyuubi was spotted. Their son was going to be a late anniversary gift to themselves as they used to say."

Hinata still looked confused until it hit her... Namikaze... Wasn't that the Yondaime's family name? Eyes widening visibly, she looked straight up into Tsunade's eyes. "Namikaze?... H-He w-w-was the Yondaime H-H-Hokage?" Seeing Tsunade nod, she pressed on. "But why is father crying?"

Tsunade turned her gaze to Hiashi before continuing. "Because he now knows what a fool he has been. You see, Minato and Kushina were good friends with Hiashi and your mom. In fact, they had an agreement together once it was discovered that both couples would be having kids just a few months apart. A clan agreement if I recall. And with all that has now happened to Naruto I think that its time for him to reclaim his clan and clan home. That will be up to him though. As such, till said time, this still remains a secret."

Hiashi slowly stood back up and faced Tsunade. "I am deeply sorry Hokage-sama. I did not know that Kushina's child had survived or I would..." Tsunade cut him off.

"Hiashi, how dare you! You should have known. Think about it. He looks almost exactly like Minato and even has Kushina's personality. Hell, he even somehow has his Minato's obsession with ramen!" Tsunade paused to calm herself down. "Think for one moment. Why would your friend, the one that told a good leader should never have someone do something that they weren't willing to do themselves first, have sacrificed someone else's kid? You knew Kushina was pregnant and would be having a baby any day."

Hiashi just stared at the Hokage before tears started up anew. "I know... I was such a fool. If I had only used my eyes I would have known and would have done all that I could to protect him."

Kakashi thru all this was just standing there. When she mentioned Kushina he knew what Tsunade was going to say though he had hoped he would be wrong. When she finally said it silent tears had started out of his lone visible eye. _'How could I be such a fool Sensei. All this time, your son was right in front of me and I did nothing for him.'_ Kakashi chuckled to himself. _'Hokage Hokage Hokage... Knowing this it fits Naruto. Well Sensei, call me a dobe all you want but I'm going to take care of the Naruto now better since I know of my mistake.'_

Hinata's mind was racing. Naruto was the Yondaime's son! That was wonderful news! Naruto was be so glad to know who his parents were finally. Hinata also knew that he already looked up to the Yondaime as his inspiration for becoming Hokage, and now he would have even more reason to look up to him. _'Wait... What was it about a deal between the couples?...'_ "Ano Hokage-sama, w-what d-d-deal did they r-reach?"

Tsunade regarded Hinata carefully then turned back to Hiashi. "I believe it is time for you to decided on whether you will honor your agreement with your friend Hiashi. If you choose to then I would suggest informing those that are apart of the agreement about it immediately."

Hiashi had calmed himself down finally when Tsunade addressed him. With no thought at all he turned to Hinata. "Hinata, its time that you learn something. Before your birth you had been placed into an arranged marriage with a son from another clan." Before he could even finish Hinata's eyes had started to tear up and she was looking down. Hiashi suddenly felt very sad. All these years he had been harsh with his daughter. First was the deaths of Minato and Kushina, then his brothers death, then finally his wife. He had become cold and hard towards his family for fear of the pain that might come should he lose another. Now he realized that while he had guarded his own heart, he had caused pain to others. "Hinata, I believe that you will like this boy. In fact, you already have met him and I know that you enjoy his company."

Hinata though couldn't bare it. This day was just to much. First Naruto had been verbally attacked by Sakura. Then she had told him how she felt and he ended up in the hospital. Next she found out an even bigger secret than the Kyuubi and was now being told she was in an arranged marriage with someone from a clan since before her birth. Thru her tears she squeezed out a few words. "I am sorry father. I will do what is required by you and the clan." Hinata proceeded to bow to him only have him stop her with a hand to her shoulder. She looked up to see her father looking into her eyes with care evident in his face.

"Hinata, my dear, I will not force you to marry this man if you do not wish it. However, you should know that why you never knew before this was because I thought the agreement null and void. It was not until a moment ago that I found out that your betrothed was alive and well all this time." Hiashi paused here to see if his daughter would understand or not.

_'What does he mean he didn't know he was alive... Wait, an agreement between the Namikaze and Hyuuga clans, a clan agreement... Could it be...'_ Hinata's head cocked ever so slightly to one side as she thought and finally come to only one conclusion. Suddenly Hiashi found his daughter hanging from his neck. Hinata, realizing how improper it was, let him go and stepped back. Bowing she said, "Sorry father. That was inappropriate behavior for public." She stopped when felt her father place his hands on her shoulders.

"No, I am the one that should apologize. I have been cold and hard to both you and your sister for far to long." Hiashi regarded his stunned daughter with silence. Had he really become that bad that she couldn't believe what he was saying? "Daughter, I wish to tell you that Namikaze Naruto was betrothed to you before either of you were born. As such, if you both agree to it, then you will be married after your 16th birthday."

Both Kakashi and Tsunade were standing silently off to one side during the entire exchange. Both were smiling. Before Hinata could reply there were sounds of running feet out in the hall followed by an explosion. While the seal kept what was said in it still allowed outside sound in. Hearing this all three adults ran out into the hallway removing the seal. Seeing that the hall was filling with smoke both Hiashi and Hinata activated their Byakugan's. Hinata gasped at what she saw. Their were four oto shinobi at the other end of the hall along with someone she recognized as Kabuto. Then, just coming into view was someone else she knew, Sasuke!

"What the hell is going on here!" Yelled a very angry Tsunade. There was anther explosion and suddenly the air started clearing out the whole in the side of the building. "Kabuto..." Tsunade was glaring daggers at the man standing on the other end of the hall. Then she realized who was with him. "Sasuke..."

The silver haired man pushed his glasses back up on his face slightly with one hand before responding to Tsunade. "Hello there Tsunade-san, imagine finding you here in the hospital." With a glance to the other Oto-nin they launched themselves down the hall at the small group. "Its been a pleasure to see you again but Sasuke and I have a very important meeting to get to."

With that Kakashi, Tsunade, and Hiashi were left to fight the three Oto-nin. They made quick work of them but it was to late, Sasuke and Kabuto were gone. "Dammit!" Tsunade's fist impacted with the wall of the hall and spider web cracks appeared. Turning to the ANBU that had shown up within moments of the second explosion started giving orders. "I want one squad to pursue them as far as they can or until the border, which ever comes first. I three more squads to start actively patrolling the city. The rest are to be sent to the wall as guards for now."

"Hai Hokage-sama!" was the unanimous reply as the ANBU shunshined away.

"Do you think they will find them?" asked Kakashi.

"No, and even it they do they will probably die. But we still have to try." Turning she walked to the room that was next to the one they had been in. "If any of you wish, you may join me in seeing Naruto. I'm going to try to awaken him."

Hinata needed no further incentive and nodded quickly before following Tsunade thru the door. She was shortly followed by both Hiashi and Kakashi. Inside they found Naruto, still asleep and peaceful looking. Hinata walked up beside his bed and gently placed a hand on his forehead wiping back a few of the stray hairs.

Tsunade motioned for her to back up so that she could get started working. Slowly her hands started to glow green and the few remaining physical wounds and stress on the body were healed. Moving up to his head Tsunade frowned. Naruto was apparently in some kind of coma. _'Odd... Its like his mind has shut down temporarily while he coped with all that had happened.' _Focusing a bit of chakra into his mind she was able to make contact with and awaken his conscious mind.

Slowly Naruto started to stir. With a slightly groan, then a smile he opened his eyes a little bit to see Tsunade hovering over him. "I might hate hospitals but this time wasn't so bad. I had the most pleasant dream I've ever had. I was told that I was wanted and even loved by someone..." Naruto trailed off as he realized there were more people in the room than just the two of them. Sitting up to get a good view he could see Kakashi (no surprise), Hiashi (curious but not concerned), and lastly a blushing Hinata. It then dawned on him it wasn't a dream. "Hinata-chan..."

Hinata, hearing the honorific used couldn't help it but sway a little while trying to resist fainting. "Yes Naruto-kun?"

Naruto just looked at her for a moment. _'Had her voice always sounded so soft? It was almost angelic sounding...'_ Naruto snapped out of his thinking whenever he noticed a hand being waved by Tsunade in front of his face. "Huh?" was all he could manage.

"Just making sure you were still with us. You kinda froze up on us there for a moment again." Tsunade said all of this with a smirk plastered on her face. _'He's almost as bad as her. Freezing at the sound of her voice like that...'_

"I'm still here..." Turning back to Hinata, who had moved over beside his bed he continued. "It wasn't a dream was it?" She shuck her head no. "Then, do you really mean what you said?" Still not trusting her voice she nodded a yes to him. "All of it... Including the thing about love?" Hinata started to turn 10 different shades of red all at the same time. She immediately started to poke her index fingers together in front of her and let her gaze fall to the floor. Naruto mistook this as her being to embarrassed to tell him no and continued in a very hushed voice. "Oh... I guess I must of misheard you then..."

Hinata's head snapped back up instantly and she saw that he was on the verge of tears again. She immediately put her arms around Naruto and was holding him in a very tight hug. "I love you Naruto-kun... I always have and always will..."

Naruto knew his mistake immediately. However, Hinata was holding on to him tighter than anyone ever had before. "Hinata... chan... can't... air..." he rasped out. Hinata pulled away from him slightly and realized he had turned a shade of blue that couldn't be healthy as he took a deep labored breath.

"Naruto-kun! Is something wrong! I'll h-h-help you with whatever it i-is." Hinata's eyes shown with concern for the one she loved.

Naruto, looking up into her eyes saw this and was touched deeply. "No Hinata-chan, nothing is wrong. At least not now... You were just holding me a little to tight was all."

Hinata started blushing madly again realizing her mistake. "Ano Naruto-kun... I just d-didn't want you to get the w-w-wrong idea earlier." She was startled when she felt a gentle, if calloused, hand reach up and touch her cheek. When she realized it was Naruto's she just let out a sigh and closed her eyes. It was like a dream come true for her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group just watched with mixed feelings. Tsunade was happy that her little brother had finally found someone that seemed to care for him in a way besides friendship. Kakashi, while happy for Naruto, was also worried what would happen when he heard of Sasuke escaping again. Hiashi didn't know what to feel. He felt an old warmth wash over him that he hadn't allowed himself to feel in a long time. At the same time though, he was feeling anger. Not towards the kids, but towards himself. He should have known long ago that Hinata had feelings for Naruto. Yet he had either turned a blind eye towards it or just chose to ignore it. Either way he had failed as a father, of that he was certain.

Clearing her throat Tsunade reluctantly interrupted the new couple in front of her. "Naruto, we need to talk."

Groaning Naruto looked over at Tsunade. "Come on... Can't the mission report wait till later Granny?"

Tsunade's eyebrow started to twitch at the Granny comment, but she would let it go... For now. "I know it can. This though is about something else. I wish to tell you who your parents are."

To say Naruto was surprised would be putting it lightly. He had always wanted to know who they were, his parents. Heck, he didn't care who they were or what they might of done, he just wanted to know so he would have someone to think of as parents. For the first time in a long time he was speechless so he just nodded his head for her to go on.

"First, what I'm telling you is a bigger secret than your furry friend that you carry." Naruto expected to hear some complaining in the back of his mind but it never came. "It will be up to you after this as to what to do with the information and who is allowed to hear it... Naruto, your mothers name was Uzumaki Kushina from the former Whirlpool Country. She was a great shinobi, if just a bit careless and unpredictable at times. She moved here after meeting your father and marrying him on a mission." Tsunade decided to pause for a second to see if he had any questions.

_'Kushina? I've heard that name somewhere I think... Oh well, at least she was married to my dad. Heck, they must of loved each other, she moved here to follow him...' _Naruto hesitantly finally spoke, "What did she look like?"

"Well, she was slender with long red hair and deep emerald green eyes. She was considered kind of tomboyish at first, but, not long after the marriage it was easy to see she was beautiful. There were few Kunoichi that could match her in beauty and at the same time in skill. She was very well known."

Naruto mulled this over in his mind for a moment. "Who was my father? Was he a very powerful shinobi? What was he like?" Naruto's eyes were starting to have a shine to them. He was finally learning of his family.

Tsunade on the other hand was suddenly very nervous. She really didn't want to be the one to tell Naruto about his father. After all, he was the one that sealed the Kyuubi into him. Wouldn't he be upset? Seeing this Kakashi set up beside Tsunade to finish since she was so nervous looking. "Naruto... I'll tell you about your father. It might be easiest this way."

Naruto turned towards his sensei. "You know who my father is? Am I the last one to find out about his secret too? I mean, I thought this was supposed to be a bigger secret than even Kyuubi!"

"Naruto, I didn't know until just a moment ago who your father was. It was at the same time that the Kyuubi was revealed to Hinata that Hokage-sama also let us in on the secret of your lineage." Kakashi's single visible eye took on a far off appearance before he continued. "Your father was my sensei. He was the one that taught be what I know. If I had known that you were his son I would have been there for you more than I was... I am sorry Naruto." Kakashi bowed his head to his young student seeking is approval and forgiveness.

Naruto though was just dumb struck. Kakashi-sensei's sensei was his dad? He thought that Kakashi's only sensei though was the Yondaime Hokage. He didn't know he had a second sensei. Just then a thought occurred to Naruto. _'Wait, his sensei? If the Yondaime was his ONLY sensei like I think, does that mean I'm the Yondaime's son?... Wait, didn't I read that he was married to a Kushina? No... It couldn't be!'_

Kakashi, who had raised his head back up could see the realization dawning in this students eyes. _'Looks like Naruto is starting to connect the dots...'_ "It looks like you might have already figured it out Naruto. Your father was the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, the one that sealed the Kyuubi into you."

Upon hearing this Naruto completely froze with a deep furrow on his brow. _'It makes sense. He sealed him into me because he didn't want to put another family through the pain of sacrificing a child! I always wondered why me, but now I get it.' _He was snapped out of his thoughts though but the gentle touch on his arm. "Hinata-chan?..."

Hinata's eyes threatened to spill over with tears that were forming in the corners. "Naruto-kun, are you alright? You look u-upset..."

Naruto looked up at Hinata. _'She's simply amazing... Even though she looks like she is about to crying she is more concerned about me...' _Naruto reached a hand up and placed on gently on her cheek resulting in a soft 'Eep!' but the tears quickly disappeared seeing Naruto again had a true smile on his face. "Its ok Hinata-chan. Remember my dream?" Seeing her nod he continued. "I might act like an idiot and I might not know a lot, but after the Old Man died I thought about what it meant to be a Hokage a lot... I understand why my dad did what he did..." Naruto looked close to tears. "Having lived what I've lived through I would never wish that on anyone else. Now that I know I was his child and not just some random orphan, I feel proud to carry the Kyuubi and would choose to do it." Silent tears started moving down his cheeks slowly but steadily. "If anything I want to be Hokage now so that in the future I can surpass my dad and make sure that others family's will never have to do what he did."

Hinata along with everyone else in the room was amazed. They were having mixed reactions as to what they were hearing from Naruto. Tsunade was surprised by how mature he was acting and simply amazed that he wasn't upset at Minato.

Kakashi was witnessing something he would never have expected. Minato's son, the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, saying that he would gladly do it all again if he had too. He knew he had always wonder why he was chosen, a seemingly random orphan. Now that he knew though why, he seemed very understanding. Kakashi felt very... proud. He knew his sensei would be proud too.

Hiashi was probably be the most amazed though. All that he had ever heard about Naruto was that he was a problem child, unruly, and immature. Now though he was witnessing something that was totally foreign to him in regards of this child. Naruto was not only was taking the news well, but his reasoning was very mature and well beyond his years. How could he be so blind all this time. All the rumors and gossip he had heard and let influence him was in contradiction with what he saw in front of him. Sure, he knew that Naruto was a prankster, but he would never have guessed the possible maturity underneath it all.

Hinata, after the initial shock, looked over the expressions on everyone else's faces. Having watched Naruto for so long already knew that some of his attitude and actions were only an act. She had seen him cry silently before when he thought no one was watching. She also knew that he did study really hard and while not the most intelligent person around, he wasn't as clueless as most thought. Well... Not clueless about somethings. _'About girls though he's still my clueless Naruto-kun...'_ thought Hinata as a small smile crept upon her features.

Tsunade recovered the quickest. "Thats a very mature point of view Naruto. I'm glad thats the way you feel. Also, now that you've found out about your family, what are you going to do? Are you going to keep it a secret or are you going to reclaim your birthright and the clan Namikaze for which you belong?"

Naruto was silent for a moment. He really wasn't sure what to do. Reclaim my birthright, the Namikaze clan? "Namikaze? I've never heard of that clan before when reading about Konoha. The name only ever appeared as the family name of Minato, never a clan." Naruto was intrigued, did he have a clan somewhere maybe far away... Did he have family left?

Hiashi stepped forward at hearing this. "Actually, he didn't belong to a clan. Minato-san was an orphan. However, the Uzumaki's are an old clan in Whirlpool. When Kushina-san moved here to follow Minato-san they decided to found a new clan. This new clan would be a branch of the old Uzumaki clan of Whirlpool. As such they would already be a 'shinobi' family. However, with his death, all records of the Uzumaki from Whirlpool and the new Namikaze of Konoha disappeared since they were both thought to be non-existent. Sandaime Hokage-sama acquired the new Namikaze estates as a Hokage mansion of sorts. I never understood why he did this until now. I believe he was keeping them safe so that one day you could inherit them." After a short pause he continued. "This is also why no one ever thought that you really were of the Uzumaki clan. Everyone thought that they had all since expired and left this world."

Tsunade then stepped in. "After the old man's death I inherited the estates. However, I did not inherit them as part of being Hokage. He had actually set it up so that the property would be transferred to me upon his death with instructions to let you have it when you were ready." With a slight smirk Tsunade continued. "Believe it or not, Sarutobi was always looking out for you, even in his own death."

Naruto began to think again. _'So, the clan did exist at one point. I also have an entire clan estate that is mine if I want it!'_ This last part caused Naruto to start beaming... He had never had a real home before, especially something as nice as a clan home. "I want to move into the clan home. Also, I wish to reclaim my clan name."

"Naruto, you know this means more people might come after you... After all, sensei had a lot of enemies..." Kakashi was worried. He didn't want his sensei's only son to get killed now that he knew about him just because of his name.

"Kakashi is right kid. I don't want you to get hurt either, but it is your choice. Just know that that could mean a lot of problems later in life."

"Uzumaki-san, it might be wise to rethink this course of action. However, know that you will have the full support and protection of the Hyuuga's should you decide to go through with your declaration."

This last part surprised Naruto. He had already figured he would just be making himself a bigger target by announcing this. But Hiashi and the Hyuuga's were going to protect him? "Why Hiashi? Why would you be will to protect and support me now? I know that you don't like me." Naruto eyed him carefully looking for a lie. Instead, he saw remorse and guilt.

"I was a good friend of your family Uzumaki-san. I was supposed to be your God-father even." Naruto's eyes widen noticeably at that. "However, I thought you dead after the Kyuubi attack and blinded myself to the truth. I should have known that Minato would never use someone else's child when he had his own. He would never have wanted another family to go through that sort of pain."

"Naruto, you might not listen, but I think you should really wait." Everyone turned to the new presence in the room. Jiraiya nodded a greeting to Tsunade. "I want to take you on as my apprentice to travel and train with me for the next couple of years. That way you will be fully prepared for anything. Especially if you want to reclaim your birthright."

Hiashi, the normally stoic man that he was, suddenly had a slight smile. Most would miss it, but for a Hyuuga, especially Hiashi, it was huge. "And, if you wait, not only will you be making the announcement, but you will be getting married shortly there after on your 16th birthday."

Naruto froze. What had he just said? "M-M-M-Married?!... W-W-What d-d-do you mean??..." sputtered Naruto. Hinata, though already knowing this, had turned redder than a vine ripened tomato.

"Well, the Namikaze and the Hyuuga's had an agreement before things went south. If you have no disagreements I would like to follow thru with the arranged marriage." Hiashi stopped for a moment to take in everyone's appearance. Hinata looked like she was trying to put everything red colored to shame and possibly inventing some new shades in the processes. Tsunade was trying not to laugh out loud at the look on Naruto's face. Finally, Kakashi looked almost proud, like a parent, or close family member. "I am quiet certain that Hinata and you would make an excellent couple." Hiashi finally finished.

Naruto turned to Hinata. "H-H-Hinata... Is this true?" She nodded her head meekly. Seeing this, Naruto reached out and took one of her hands. "Hinata-chan... I don't want you t-to do something y-y-you don't want to do... Ok?"

Hinata looked Naruto straight in the eyes and mustered up ever last ounce of courage she had. "I w-w-w-w-would be honored N-N-Naruto-kun to be y-y-your w-w-w-w-w-w..."

Seeing that she was suddenly stuck on the word Naruto decided to finish it for her. "Wife?" Hinata started to nod very vigorously at this while still turning even more shades of red and smiling the biggest smile Naruto had ever seen on anyone other than himself. "Hinata-chan... I don't know much about love. I thought that I loved Sakura-chan, but realized after today that I didn't... I'm not sure I've ever loved anyone really... Or really had the love of anyone else. But if it would make you happy then I would be honored, Hyuuga-sama, as the heir to the Namikaze clan, to have Hinata-chan's hand in marriage." He smiled at his now future wife. "And I will wait to return from training to claim my clan."

Everyone seemed very happy for the new couple in front of them. After a few moments though Tsunade decided it was time to get to business again. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think its time to get back to business. Naruto, Sasuke escaped again just a little bit ago. I have ANBU trying to track him, but I seriously doubt they will find him." Naruto looked shocked. Before he could say anything though Tsunade continued. "I will not be letting you go after him again though. Instead, as soon as you are able you are to leave to start training with Jiraiya. Also, after Sakura's actions at the gate earlier, I will not be taking her on as a new apprentice. I will though, extend the offer to Hinata if she wants."

Hiashi, for a Hyuuga, looked stunned. Hinata, to say the least, looked absolutely shocked stupid. "Me?!..." she finally squeaked out. Tsunade just nodded a yes to her. "B-B-But... I'm w-w-weak and n-not worthy of s-s-such an h-h-honor."

Tsunade just shuck her head at this. "Hinata, if I didn't think you worthy I wouldn't offer it. I know that the Hyuuga rarely become medic-nins but since you are no longer going to be heir that shouldn't matter." Hinata looked confused. "sigh Hinata, once you marry Naruto you will be a Namikaze and no longer be able to be the head of the Hyuuga clan. As such, the old fashioned ideas that medic-nins are below a main branch Hyuuga will not apply. Of course, for a little while I'm sure the Hyuuga council will complain, but after Naruto comes back and makes his claim they will have no choice but to shut up."

A few more things were discussed that night, including were Naruto would go on his training with Jiraiya and what Tsunade would be teaching Hinata. Hinata and Naruto over the next week continued to hang out and get to know each other better and Naruto was slowly starting to feel something for the young Hyuuga heiress. Sakura wasn't happy when she found out that she wouldn't be taken as Tsunade's apprentice and instead Hinata would be. She also blamed Naruto for Sasuke escaping again, saying that he never would have if Naruto wouldn't have hurt him so bad. The council wanted outwardly wanted to punish Naruto for the treatment of Sasuke but, in the meetings with the Hokage, it was clear that quiet a few wished Naruto had either hurt him worse or killed him outright.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Standing at the gate were Kakashi, Hiashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hinata and lastly Naruto. The sight of Naruto when he first arrived had caused Jiraiya to sweat drop, Kakashi to eye smile, and Tsunade to out right laugh. It looked like he had packed to entire house in his one pack. It didn't take long for Jiraiya to seal everything (including a years worth of instant ramen) away and repack Naruto's bag.

Naruto and Jiraiya stood in the gate looking back at the group. Hiashi noticed that Naruto's and Hinata's gaze seemed to lock for a moment and it was then that he saw not only love from Hinata but love and a need to protect in Naruto's. Yes, he had made the right decision to keep the marriage contract intact.

"Naruto-kun... Please be safe for me."

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, I promise that I'll do my best to stay safe." Naruto smiled warmly at her. "And you know I never break my promises."

"I know Naruto-kun." Hinata smiled back. "I promise to get stronger for you so that when you get back I will be able to stand by your side not only as your wife but also as an equal."

"Hey gaki, you had better not get hurt, I don't want to have to come and heal you after all. And we need you to be strong so that you can take over from me in a few years." Tsunade smiled.

Kakashi stepped forward and laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "I'm sorry for the past Naruto, and I promise to do all in my power to make it up to you and sensei. When you get back I'll be waiting for you."

"Uzumaki-san, I will make sure that the Hyuuga are here for you when you return. However, I can only keep the marriage secret till Hinata's 16th birthday. At that time, the council has the right, if she is not either engaged or seeing someone they approve of, to arrange a marriage. While we already have one, it is a secret and as such they can marry her off. I will delay them if necessary, but I do ask that you return before then so we do not have to deal with it Uzumaki-san." Hiashi finished with a slight bow of his head.

Naruto, who was tearing up, returned Hiashi's bow. "We shall endeavor to return by then Hiashi-sama. And I shall return strong and make you all proud."

With that Naruto and Jiraiya turned and left. Everyone watched until they were out of sight. It was going to be a long few years for everyone.


	2. The Mighty Return

A/N: I suck at descriptions so please bear with me. Also, I don't know the name of Japanese clothing so if anyone can point me to a good site with reference information on that it would be appreciated.

Now to answer some reviews.

Pyroprogramer/Shadow Sentinel: As you will see in this chapter I've decided to skip the training. As such, I will be doing flashbacks to cover the important stuff in this and later chapters. Some of these flashbacks might be long (several pages in Word) or short, I really don't know. Also, as you will realize, I did have Naruto stay gone a little longer in this fiction. Don't worry, you'll understand why.

Zmaniz: I already realized the pro's and con's of cross-overs and how bad they can be. However, as such, I already know what I will do for any cross-overs I choose to do and wish to fit them in in a believable manner.

Few more notes.

I would like to say that I don't do character bashing unless its applicable in the story (I won't target a character in other words). Last chapter some might have thought that I was bashing one or more characters. Well, I wasn't aiming for them it just happened in the story. I believe any situation has a positive and negative possibility for an outcome. For this fiction, I decided to go with the more extreme swings of the pendulum in a few cases last time because I believe that it is within the realm of possibility with those characters.

Lastly, I have never read the manga, I've only seen up through the Sasuke retrieval arc (plus some random episodes I caught), and I've only seen the first 14 or so episodes of Shippuden. I have read some of the recent manga outlines on and as such I will be keeping that in mind. Also, while I might not follow the events of Shippuden that doesn't mean that some of those events won't occur (in an altered way) in this fiction. I do (through reading fiction, wikipedia, and primarily ) know of the major events and happenings and will use them as I see fit.

**Chapter 2 – The Mighty Returned**

If there was one job in Konoha that all Chunin hated it was this. Guard duty. Even worse was gate guard duty. At least if you were guarding the wall you wouldn't be reminded of how other shinobi were out doing something. Heck, after a little while even chasing Tora started to sound good to some Chunin.

"Kami, I can't wait till they let us start going on missions."

"Sigh I know what you mean. Here we are, new Chunin, and they stick us with this... I mean come on! At least with Tora you got to move around a little!..."

The first Chunin, named Kizaki, noticed someone coming... And they weren't part of a team! Maybe there day was looking up now. "Check it out Saruji, someones coming and they aren't apart of a team."

The second Chunin, Saruji, squinted to try and see who they were better. One of them he recognized almost instantly as Jiraiya. The other though didn't look familiar. He was wearing a black form fitting shirt (jounin undershirt) with loose black cargo pants, with a pair of black socks and thin strap on sandals (the kind worn in Bleach by Shiningami) on his feet. He also had a loose, dark orange coat that came down about a foot from his waist. Under it just barely visible was a loosely hung Katana.

As they finally started to pass Saruji called out to them. "Excuse me Jiraiya-sama, but who is that with you? We must know so that we can put him down in the traffic registry."

They both stopped but only the person in questioned turned towards them wearing a huge smile. "Come on now, surely I haven't changed that much? Its me, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Kizaki and Saruji's eyes both bugged out. Now that they looked closely they could see the very faint whisker lines on his face and noticed his brilliantly blue eyes. His hair, while still that bold blond color, was now long and pulled back into a ponytail that stopped at the bottom of his shoulder blades. With that both Jiraiya and Naruto kept going.

"D-D-Did he just say Naruto?..." asked a stunned Saruji.

"Y-Yes he did..." Just then Kizaki started to smile widely. "I think that things might turn out to be more interesting around her now with him back... This should be fun!"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Tsunade had been sitting behind her desk trying to stare the paperwork into submission. The more she watched though the more she was convinced that the paperwork was growing without Shizune actually bringing anything in. She was just about to give up with the office door was burst open very abruptly.

"Hey Granny! Wha..." Naruto didn't get to finish the statement as he suddenly found himself being reacquainted with the floor of the office with a large lump on his head.

"I'M NOT OLD!" Yelled a fuming Tsunade. Here was Naruto and Jiraiya (who had stopped mid step behind Naruto watching) returning from their trip finally and all he... could... do... return... "Naruto! Your back!" Next thing Naruto knew he had been pulled up into a bone crushing hug.

Jiraiya was still just standing there, mid step, with his right foot up in the air. After seeing Tsunade literally fly at Naruto for the Granny comment he had been afraid she was just in a really bad mood and would hurt him for being him. As soon as Naruto though had been picked up into a bone crushing hug two very different thoughts ran through his head causing two different reactions. One, he wanted to be hugged like that since Naruto's face was smack dab between her breast causing a small nose bleed. Two, here was the women that had just pounded Naruto flat suddenly hugging him causing a small sweat drop to form on his head. _'Can't make up her mind whether to kill him by beating or by smothering him. I know I wouldn't mind dying between those two wondrous breast...'_

Tsunade noticed the small nose bleed from Jiraiya and gently released Naruto. "Jiraiya, I've missed you too..." She smiled the most sweet smile she could muster and moved towards the pervert arms outstretched.

Jiraiya though was thinking how lucky he was. _'Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally, I get to hug her and maybe get a feel of those wonderfully large jugs she calls breast.' _To late though he realized what was about to happen as the smile turned suddenly wicked and he found himself on the other side of her punch which sent him back into the hallway and through the wall.

"Thats for being a pervert! And if you've corrupted my Naruto I will make sure that you can never reproduce or be with a women!" yelled a visibly upset Tsunade. Turning back to Naruto she calmed down and gestured for him to have a seat as she returned to her seat behind the desk. "Its good to see you again Naruto. I see you've changed your outfit and acquired a sword."

"Yeah, I thought it was time for a change." Naruto grinned sheepishly and started scratching the back of his head. "And Himura-sensei gave me this sword as a parting gift before I left to come back here."

Tsunade quirked an eyebrow hearing this unknown name. "Himura-sensei? Am I to take it then that Jiraiya didn't teach you while you were gone?"

Naruto quickly started to wave his hands in front of him defensively. "No no no no! We ran into Himura-sensei about 2 months after leaving here and Ero-sennin thought that it would be wise to learn swordsmanship as a way to help build my physical strength. In fact, it wasn't until the last few months that Jiraiya taught me any jutsus." Seeing Tsunade's face start to turn back to anger Naruto quickly tried to appease her. "Thats ok though! You see, instead I worked on my strength, speed, and kenjutsu skills. Jiraiya still taught me chakra control and lectured me at night, but it wasn't until just recently that he thought I was really ready to begin other things!"

Tsunade, to her credit, had decided to calm down a little. However, she was still seething inside and couldn't decide if she should just outright kill Jiraiya or only maim him a little for not spending more time teaching Naruto. Especially since Naruto was now almost 16 and planned on claiming his birthright and marrying Hinata. _'Sigh This is week is going to be hectic. Especially when he announces his heritage and claims Hinata as his... Hiashi may agree with it but I bet the Hyuuga Council will pitch a fit and probably come to me to try and stop it...'_ Tsunade had started to rub her temples and the headache she was not getting all the while Naruto just sat there grinning like the fool some thought he was.

"Well, I can tell that you aren't mad anymore Granny..." Naruto stopped for a second upon receiving a glare from Tsunade. "But I'm ready to get this show on the road. Also, I want to go see my Hime."

"Hime?" Tsunade perked back up a bit and smirked at the boy. "So now she's your Hime? When did this happen? Before she was just your _Hinata-chan_ now she's your Hime?" Tsunade's smirk widen seeing the young man start to blush and squirm slightly from the pressure.

"Umm... Well... You... Umm... While I was gone... I-I had t-time to think... And well... I-I k-k-know we are to be married anyways but I-I-I just realized that she was always n-n-nice to me and... Treated me with love and respect..." Naruto sheepishly grinned looking down at his lap while scratching the back of his head. "Hinata-hime is like a Princess to me. She is always so gentle and kind to those who are around her..."

Tsunade looked once again upon the young man before her. She couldn't help but smile at what he had grown up to become. "I don't think that I could have asked for a better wife for you Naruto." She then reached into the top drawer of her desk and brought forth a key and scroll both of which she handed to Naruto. "That is the key to your new house. It is located just a little ways past the Hyuuga compound in the woods. Minato had it built there so he could be close to his friend Hiashi while still being secluded. I will have Shizune start packing our stuff and we shall buy a new house somewhere in town."

Naruto took the key and examined it. While it looked like a normal key for the most part, on the top where the crest for the Uzumaki Clan on one side and what he presumed would be the Namikaze crest on the other. The Namikaze crest he thought was plain, but beautiful. It had the swirl in the middle with was what looked like an image of Gamabunta from the air sitting. _'I'm glad I signed the contract now. Looks like father had planned on keeping the contract in the family.'_ Around the outside of the swirl were the words _"Strength through hard work and loyalty to friends."_ in kanji. "Tsunade... How big is the house?"

"Well, Minato had planned on starting a clan so he made sure build a house big enough to suit that end. I'd say, including the 'guest' rooms, there are probably 15 bedrooms of various sizes. Also, there is a dojo, on-site family hot-spring, and extensive training grounds. He bought the land and had the house built to his and Kushina's specifications." Tsunade smirked a little seeing Naruto's eyes bug out slightly at the size of the house. "I know, it is kind of small considering your father wanted it to one day be a clan big enough to rival the Uchiha clan, but thats why he bought a lot of land to expand on."

"W-W-What do you m-mean small?! The house must be HUGE!" Naruto couldn't comprehend how a 15 bedroom house could be considered small.

"Well Naruto, you have to remember that clans like the Uchiha took up entire an entire district of Konoha. The Hyuuga's, while not as large, have about 150 clan members alive at this time. Minato and Kushina wanted their future family to be able to live together and get long. Your father actually bought not only the 15 acres the current complex sits on, but also the surrounding 20 acres of forest. Unfortunately, the area he bought isn't on any maps as more than just a spot since its on the far edge of the village. In fact, the road to the entrance gate would probably be overgrown by now if I the Sarutobi had not moved in and I follow suit."

Naruto just sat there for a moment in thought. From the sounds of it he had a LOT of room and space now. The thing is though, even though he would be married soon, it would still feel empty and lonely because of big it was without anyone there to occupy it. "Tsunade-baa-chan... You don't have to move out... You and Shizune-nee-chan can continue to live there if you want... I wouldn't mind the company and I don't think Hinata-chan would mind it either after we're married." Naruto looked up at Tsunade at the end with a look of hope in his eyes.

Tsunade's heart melted seeing the look in his eyes. "Ok brat, we'll stay there with you. Heck, this way we can continue to use the private hot springs without having to worry about perverts." Seeing Naruto raise a questioning eyebrow Tsunade decided to explain. "First, I don't think we would have to worry about you becoming a pervert and trying to spy on us. Your too good to do that." Naruto grinned sheepishly at what he felt as praise. "Second, your dad was a seal master. The hot-springs are divided into three area's; male, female, and family. The male and female sides have seals on them preventing peeping unless you are physically in the hot-spring. If you tried to mess with the seal... Well... Lets just say that Jiraiya was unable to use the Hira Jizou Jutsu for several months."

Naruto couldn't help but snicker as the image of Jiryia suddenly losing all of his hair because he was trying to peep on the baths. "What about the family baths? What are those?"

"Your parents thought that eventually clansmen and women would have business to talk about or would like to bath together. There was also the chance that they might bring over a friend or date of the opposite gender and would like to visit the hot-springs with them." Naruto went pale at that. Bathing with the other sex... Especially those that were just friends?! Eww... Seeing his look Tsunade thought it best to clarify. "Now Naruto, please understand that this wasn't meant to be perverted or anything. In fact its not uncommon for there to be a public co-ed bath in the larger towns. Now that doesn't mean you have to bath in the nude in them. In fact, the Namikaze family baths has a sign that can be switched for nude or non-nude only. That way you can invite friends over to bath, male or female, and won't be seeing more of them than you would like."

Naruto perked up hearing this. "It might be fun to be able to have my friends over to bathe and relax sometimes in the hot-springs. I usually just bath indoors in the shower and use the hot-springs to relax my muscles after hard training." Naruto started to laugh at a memory. "Once, Himura-sensei caught Ero-sennin trying to peep on the women's side of a bath after we went to relax and proceeded to beat him with his sword."

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh also. _'I think that I would like to meet this Himura. Anyone that is willing to train Naruto, and isn't a pervert like Jiryia and Kakashi, is ok in my book.'_ "Well Naruto, as much as I would love to sit here with you and hear all about your trip I think that there is someone else who might like to see you." Naruto started to blush deeply. "One more thing though. Don't tell anyone quiet yet ok? We'll make an announcement on your birthday about it and thats when you will officially get your entire inheritance."

Naruto nodded his agreement as he got up. As he was leaving he was starting to feel extremely nervous about meeting Hinata again after all this time. Sure, they had wrote each other a few times, but only a few times. Usually they were both to busy to really talk much in the letters or couldn't say much for fear of the letter getting intercepted. But to actually see her face to face again, to see his Hime, it would be slightly different. "Ok, I'll see you tonight at the house then."

"Don't look so nervous gaki. She's missed you a lot and I'm sure she will be more than happy to see you." Tsunade gently smiled at the young man in front of her. Seeing him relax some she proceeded to shoo him out of the room.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Sigh Hinata was bored. She had the day of from Tsunade and was just wandering the streets of Konoha. See glanced up at the mid-morning sun and crystal clear sky. _'Naruto-kun... I can't wait for your soon return...'_ She smiled happily to herself at that thought. Naruto was supposed to return soon. His birthday was coming up in the next few days and they (Hinata, Hiashi, Kakashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Shizune) had insisted that he be back for it. _'And after the party we can start planning the wedding.'_ This of course caused Hinata to start blushing 10 different shades of red at the same time.

"Hey Hinata!"

Turning Hinata spotted Ino approaching her through the crowd waving. She smiled warmly at the approaching blond. "Hello Ino-chan. Care to walk with me?" Seeing a nod of approval Hinata turned back around and continued to walk. "So hows your team doing Ino?"

"Oh, their ok I guess. Asuma-sensei keeps us pretty busy with training and missions most days. What time he doesn't take up the my parents take by having me tend the flower shop." Hinata had to stifle a slight giggle at her friends expense. "Today though he gave us a special mission... Take the day off and don't let anyone make you do anything!"

Hinata couldn't keep it in any longer after her friends outburst. She laughed, not loudly, but still laughed. "I'm happy for you Ino-chan, getting today off. You deserve it."

Ino smiled and then looked around. "Hey Hinata, where are we? I don't recognize this area."

Hinata smiled slightly. "This is the land that used to belong to the Yondaime Hokage-sama." _'And soon Naruto and me will be living here...'_ Hinata had to repress a sudden blush and squeal at that thought. "Now it belongs to the Godaime-sama, Tsunade-sama. I come up here often since it isn't to far from my clans compound."

Ino gazed around. They were currently walking up a hill on a small, but well kept path made of white stone. The forest around them was very thick and you couldn't see to far off the path before the underbrush blocked the view. She returned her gaze to the front when they crested the hill. In front of them was a wall done in a traditional style that stood around 10 feet tall. The gate was already open so they proceeded in. Ino let out a small gasp. There, in front of them, was a large, beautiful mansion. From what she could tell it was built to look like a cross between a traditional clan home and a modern house. It was two stories tall with a traditional looking tile roof. On the front corners were what looked like toads, with pipes in their mouths, standing guard pointing out. The coloring was a non-discipt white with a wood walk-way under a roof wrapping around both sides of the house. In the back she could barely make out the edge of another building on offset and behind the main house. "Wow..."

Hinata looked over at her friend with a smile. _'Yeah Wow. And soon it will be all mine! Hehehehe... You girls have no idea how badly you messed up chasing that homosexual, no good, ass for a face, Uchiha-teme.'_ "It's quiet something isn't it? I really love coming up here and just relaxing. This far from the village lets you escape all the noise and rarely does anyone wander in this direction. Sigh It is just so peaceful up here."

Ino nodded, still in slight awe of the place. It was very tastefully done in her opinion. The Yondaime must have had help in designing it. After all, it's a common known fact that male shinobi have no taste what so ever. "Do you think she would mind if I came up here sometimes too?"

Hinata looked at Ino and could see that she really liked it up there and wanted to spend more time there. _'Well Ino, I know that I would have no problem with you coming up here. Naruto and Tsunade? I doubt either of them would mind either.' _"Ino, I'm sure Tsunade-sama wouldn't mind at all."

Hinata proceeded to show Ino around some for a little while. The inside was modern looking with beautiful hard wood floors and carpets in most rooms. The bedrooms all had plush carpeting with either 2 twin, a queen, or king size bed. The kitchen had all the latest appliances while a fireplace sat in the middle of one living room wall.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

"Where could Hinata be?... I've looked everywhere... Hmmm..." Naruto had been looking for Hinata for the past few hours and it was now going on noon. Sigh "I guess it could wait until later. Hmm... She is Granny's apprentice, maybe Hinata will show up at the house later... Thats it, I'll just wait for her there."

Smiling Naruto proceeded to start heading towards his new home. As he had been searching he noticed that fewer of the villagers were giving him hateful glares or looks of disgust as used too. He decided on talking about it to Tsunade later, see if something had happened while he was gone to make them not notice him.

"Naruto-san, may I have a word with you?"

Hearing someone address him as such Naruto turned to see who it was. To his surprise it was Hiashi Hyuuga, not someone Naruto wanted to talk to. It wasn't that he disliked the man, but he was marrying his first born daughter and surly that meant he would try to intimidate him. And Hiashi was a very intimidating person. "Yes Hyuuga-sama?"

Hiashi just looked at Naruto for a moment. Except for the whisker marks, which seemed faded, and the clothing, Naruto could have easily passed as a younger Minato. It actually pained him that Naruto referred to him in the proper way. "Please, if you would accompany me back into my clan complex and study, you would greatly honor me Naruto-san."

"Of course Hyuuga-sama." It was then that Naruto had noticed that he had been passing by the Hyuuga complex. After all, the quickest way to reach the Namikaze clan compound by road was right by the Hyuuga compound.

A few minutes later Naruto was taking his seat across from Hiashi in what he assumed was the man's personal study. _'Ugh... I hate these traditional seats and crap. I swear, if they are anywhere in my compound they will be removed!'_ Naruto decided, after taking his seat, to return his attention to Hiashi. It unnerved him slightly. It was almost like the man was just sitting there studying him. Feeling uncomfortable Naruto decided to break the silence. "Hyuuga-sama, was there something that you wished to discuss with me?" As he finished Naruto thought that for a brief moment he saw a look of pain flash in Hiashi's eye's.

"Naruto-san, it would honor me and make me happy if you would refer to me as Hiashi-san." A very small smile almost seemed to appear at the corners of his mouth. "After all, shortly you will be marrying my daughter and you are the son of my best friend."

Naruto thought that he was going to faint from what he was hearing. First, Hiashi wasn't being an overprotective father OR stick up the ass Hyuuga family head like normal. Second, he was actually being friendly and seemingly smiled, albeit small, at him. Lastly, he wanted him to refer to him as Hiashi-san. Sure, it wasn't as improper as just Hiashi, but still, the san honorific, especially on a first name, dear sweet Kami, was this really Hiashi? "Hyu... I mean Hiashi-san... May I ask why you are being so nice to me. I know before I left you seemed ok with my marrying Hinata-chan but now you seem pleased with it... Why?"

Hiashi's usually cold face cracked just a little and Naruto could see sadness under it. "Naruto... Is it ok if I call you just Naruto?" Seeing Naruto's stunned face slowly nod in acceptance Hiashi continued. "Naruto, before you left I had accepted you marriage to my daughter. I was already happy about it in fact. I was even more pleased to find out that Minato-kun and Kushina-chan's.." Now Naruto's eyes were the size of dinner plates. "..only child was still alive. It was like a part of them had come back from the grave for me. I also saw the look in your eye before you left with Jiraiya-sama. Not only did you start loving my daughter in the week before you left, but I could tell that you would do whatever to protect her. Just as I, as your God-father, will do what I can to protect you and your kids from harm."

By the end Naruto was actually starting to tear up. He was seeing a side of Hiashi that he figured very few people ever got to see. A side that was actually human. And, if the honorific on his parents names meant anything, Hiashi and his wife must have really cared for them and been really good friends. _'I wonder if this is the side that my parents got to see. A more human, personable side, of Hyuuga Hiashi. I could actually start to like Hiashi if this is how he acts in private.'_ The last part, about protecting Hinata and him, and their children, was what really pulled at his heart strings. Here was an adult, a Hyuuga, and the clan head no less, offering not only to back his clan before he left, but now offering to protect him and his children.

Naruto let a small laugh escape his mouth as a few tears escaped his eye's. "Who would have ever thought that Hyuuga Hiashi would offer to protect the village 'demon'?'

Hiashi just shock his head. "You have no idea Naruto how much you remind me of your parents right now. What you just said is just like them."

Naruto just smiled a very large smile at that. "Well, I'll let you be the first one in on a little secret if you would like."

Hiashi just quirked an eyebrow. "Really? A secret? Does this mean that you trust me Naruto?" In reality, Hiashi was hoping deep down that that was what it really meant. He had held Minato and Kushina's trust all those years ago, maybe he would hold their son's now too. "If you wish to share it with me the I would be happy to listen. Don't worry, there are seals on this room so that not only can you not listen in, but you also can't see in with a Byakugan."

Naruto suddenly had a mischievous, fox like grin on his face. "Oh, you will love this secret Hiashi-san..."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Naruto was slowly but steadily approaching the Namikaze compound ascending the hill. _'Why in the world did they build it on a hill anyway?! And in the middle of the forest!'_ Cresting the top Naruto was stunned at his first sighting of the place. It was magnificent looking to him. Sure, he had seen bigger (not many) and more ornate looking places, but his new home just seemed to scream... Home. Slowly he stepped thru the gate and gazed upon the yard. He could see, in his minds eye, little blond and Indigo haired children running around. Some had pale white to lavender colored eyes while others had stunning blue. _'Someday, I'll make sure that becomes a reality.'_

Naruto let himself into the house and began to look around. He quickly discovered that the house was shaped like a square donut and, though the outside looked traditional, the interior was modern. On the first floor was the living room, a two story library, study, kitchen, dining room, a couple of full bathrooms, and a small indoor dojo near the back set-up for light work-outs. In the middle was a small, but very beautiful and peaceful, garden. Naruto could only guess that the second floor was the bedrooms. Around the inside edge, running above the boardwalk, was a serious of small balcony's. They were located outside a few of the rooms on the second floor. _'Must be for private sitting and viewing of the stars and garden at night.'_

Continuing to look around Naruto made his way out back. The back yard was huge, with plenty of area to have party's, meetings, or anything that required large amounts of space. On the left was a building that looked similar to the house on the exterior but had a sign marking it as a dojo. On the right was a building that was small and had tall wooden fences coming off the back. The hot-springs. Deciding to check out the springs first Naruto proceeded to walk around the boardwalk over to the entrance to the hot-springs.

Just inside was a set of doors marked male and female. Stepping through the male side he proceeded into the changing area. Once he was undressed and had stored his clothing Naruto stepped out the back door. To his surprise it didn't open straight into the springs. Instead, he was in a large room with three separate doors. One for each hot-spring. Naruto, since he was alone, decided to have a look around and check on the different hot-springs. After all, this was going to be his house soon and he wanted to know what the differences were in all three springs and there set-up.

Checking the male one on the far left first, it seemed to look like most springs with very little in it. Mainly it was just the hot-spring with a concrete and stone path all around the outside. You could easily fit 20 people in it without any trouble. Next, the family springs. It again had a path leading all around its edge, but also had on the far end several small garden spots with decorative flowers and a couple of small trees. _'Wow, its so nice and beautiful in this spring. This one seems like it would be better used as a relaxation spring and not one for bathing.'_ Last was the female side. Naruto wasn't sure he should check it out at first, but heck, no one was here after all.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Ino and Hinata both sat in the hot-springs at the Namikaze residence. They were having a very peaceful time and, for once, didn't need to worry about that pervert Kiba trying to spy on them. More specifically, spying on Hinata.

"...Hinata, I do believe these baths are more relaxing than the public baths..."

"Sigh ...I would agree... Especially since we don't have to worry about a certain perverted dog trying to spy on us..." _'Though there is one person I wouldn't mind spying on me...'_ Instantly Hinata's checks flared to life in a brilliant shade of red.

Ino cocked an eyebrow at this. "Hinata? Are you ok? I haven't seen you blush like that since you were young and... thinking... about... Naruto..." Suddenly Ino had a mischievous grin on her face. "Don't tell me... You were just thinking about Naruto being here watching you?" Ino proceeded to move to Hinata's side and get right up beside her. This caused the poor, albeit not so innocent, Hinata to start inventing new shades of red.

"N-N-No... Of c-c-c-course n-not I-Ino... What k-k-k-kind of p-p-person do you t-t-t-t-think I am?..." Hinata, who very rarely stuttered anymore, couldn't help herself. Thinking of Naruto being there and then Ino moving so close to her with that smile made her both nervous and embarrassed.

Ino however had just caught movement out of the corner of her eye and noticed a certain young blond had become frozen in place at the entrance. Recognition flashed in Ino's eye's after no more than one second after seeing the eye's and whisker marks. "Come on Hinata..." She then grabbed her friend by the arms. "Let him see you!"

Hinata just barely registered the last line before being picked up and spun around to face the entrance. Her top half now stood out of the water and there before her was Naruto. Suddenly Hinata's whole body stiffened and started changing colors. Naruto, who appeared to be mentally in shock, just stood there gaping like a fish out of water. Suddenly, Naruto was sent flying back with massive nose bleeds, larger than any of the ones they had caught Kiba having while spying on them.

"Naruto!" Hinata, seeing him passed out on the ground rushed forward to check on him.

Ino though was trying not to drown herself from laughing to hard. Suddenly she noticed Hinata fly back from her own nosebleed. Stepping out to see what was happening Ino soon spotted Naruto, laying spread eagle, with his towel open. _'Mmmm... Not bad Naruto. Its too bad Hinata wants you or I would have to pounce on that.'_ Ino subconsciousness licked her lips and shivered. If Hinata ever gave up, then she would go after that piece of man flesh herself. "But what to do with the two of you?"

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

AN: I promise to have the next chapter up much quicker. Especially since this one ended in the middle of an embarrassing scene. Just remember, this is my first fiction and I'm new to writing this kind of stuff.


	3. Naughty Words! Bad Dog!

A/N: I will try to post my notes at the end of chapters from now on unless something needs to be said before the reading is done. Also note that, when I think its necessary, I will list the jutsu's at the end of the chapter in both the Japanese (in chapter) with the English translation. However, if nobody cares about this I will leave those off because that just adds false length to the words listing for this story.

I removed the possible cross overs from the summary listing. Reason being I don't consider Kenshin to be a true cross-over since I have made him apart of the world (just wait and see). I could have just as easily created an OC for the job but like Kenshin as a character so I thought it best to use someone people might recognize (and I really liked him).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any anime for that matter. Oh well.

**Chapter 3 – Naughty Words! Bad Dog!**

"Ugh..." The first thing that Naruto noticed was that he was laying on something extremely soft and comfortable. The second thing was that there was a slight pressure on his left arm that made it so that he couldn't move it. Last was that he didn't have a shirt on and something was gently tracing lines on his chest. Hesitantly he opened his eyes... Only to see Hinata laying on his left arm and Ino on his right tracing on his chest while smiling.

"Well hello sexy..." Ino purred very sensually. "You know, after walking in on us in the hot-springs it was all we could do not to have our way with you right there." Ino smirked slightly and moved to where she was partially up on Naruto's chest. It was then that he noticed he only had his boxers on while Ino had a on a tight shirt and short shorts. "Hinata and I thought we would move you up here to wait for you to wake up so... we... could... have some... fun..." With each word Ino drew closer to Naruto.

Naruto was now turning shades of red that could put Hinata to shame. Looking away from Ino Naruto finally noticed what Hinata was wearing. She had on a pair of lavender panties with a loose, a few sizes to big, orange shirt on that looked as though it might reach mid thigh when standing. What happened next surprised both Ino and Naruto.

Ino was forced to move quickly out of the way as Hinata, in her sleep, rolled over and started to use Naruto's shoulder as a pillow. Slowly Hinata, still asleep, started squirming and moaned a little. "Mmmmm... Naruto-kun... Mmmmm..."

Ino could only blink before Naruto passed out. Seeing the two she instantly sprinted out of the room. As soon as she was out of ear shot she started laughing and rolling around on the floor. This was just to much for her. _'Who would have thought that Hinata was a closet pervert?! This is just too rich! I was just hoping to embarrass Naruto and then wake up Hinata and see her reaction, but this is more than I could have hoped for! I need a camcorder NOW!'_

Quickly Ino searched the house, finding a small camcorder in a desk drawer downstairs, and returned to the room. She was immediately grateful for having found the camcorder and started rolling. _'I don't know if I can handle this or not! Its just to damn much!'_

Hinata, while Ino was gone, had proceeded to get on top of Naruto was still asleep. She was also still moaning slightly and moving a little. Ino proceeded to take a few candid shots of her friend and Naruto before zooming out to get a full shot of the entire scene.

"Mmmm... Faster Naru-kun... Mmmm... I've been naughty... Spank me Naru-kun..."

After that the last bit was recorded Ino shut off the device and could not, no matter what she tried, contain the laughter anymore. She immediately ran out of the room laughing hard enough to cause her to almost pass out while slamming the door behind her. This of course woke Hinata up with a start at such a loud noise.

Sitting up instantly Hinata looked around herself. It took only a moment to realize where she was. "The master bedroom? But what am I doing..." It was then that she noticed a slight pressure between her legs and finally looked down... First, she was on top of Naruto causing an instant blush, especially since he didn't have a shirt on. _'Mmmm... Naru-kun, you might have had the a good body before leaving, but the training has turned you into one sexy hunk of a man. Sas-gay fan girls, take that!'_ Her eye's slowly started trailing on downwards and she realized that not only was Naruto only in boxers, but she only had panties and a shirt on. And that pressure? _'Oh my... So... Big... Must uncover... Must touch...'_ Her hand started to move on its own towards the bulge in his boxers before Hinata's sweet, still somewhat shy side, took over. Realizing what she was about to do Hinata proceeded to faint and fall forward to the side of Naruto. Thud

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Tsunade was having a pretty good day. She had finished the dreaded paperwork, drank a little sake, spoke to Naruto, and was now returning home. _'I wonder if he has returned home yet?... Probably still out looking for Hinata or eating ramen knowing him.'_

As Tsunade slowly walked to the front of the house she could have sworn she heard loud laughing as well as some sort of banging noise. Stepping into the house she made her way to the living room. There, rolling around on the floor banging her fist into it, was a fully dressed and purple face Ino. Apparently she was having trouble breathing through all the laughing.

"Ino?... Whats going on? Why are you here and why are you laughing so hard?..." Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at the sight of the girl in front of her. Over the last year she had tested Ino a few times over basic healing jutsu's as it seemed that Hinata had taken and started, in her free time, showing Ino the basics of being a medic-nin. It also seemed that Hinata and Ino had forged some form of close, almost sisterly, friendship.

After wiping the tears from her eyes Ino turned to look at the Hokage. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama. It is just that Naruto and Hinata are so easy to tease and manipulate... And Hinata's a closet pervert." Ino almost started laughing again but was able to hold it in.

"...Ok, I'm curious so I'll bite. What happened exactly to make you laugh like that? And what do you mean Hinata's a closet pervert?..."

Ino spent the next couple of minutes retelling to Tsunade what had transpired over the course of the last half-hour. Oh course Tsunade was finding parts of it hard to believe until the blond broke out the camcorder and replayed it.

"Mmmm... Faster Naru-kun... I need it... I've been naughty... Spank me Naru-kun..."

At first Tsunade paled. That was her sweet little Hinata, the one that was to marry her little gaki Naruto? She had to replay it just to be sure. By the end of it though Tsunade's cheeks had reddened from the embarrassment of it and she had started to laugh slightly. Yes, that was her sweet Hinata, but who knew that under that sweet candy coating there was a spicy center?

Handing the camcorder over, Tsunade had to ask. "Ino, where are they now?"

Smirking slightly, "Well, since I slammed the door running out of there laughing I would have thought that one or both of them would have waken up. So, either they did and did it..." Tsunade now looked ghostly white, "...or, which ever one, if not both, that awoke passed back out after seeing the position they were in."

Turning and moving as quick as possible without seeming to be in a rush or worried, Tsunade started moving towards the stairs and the second floor. "I think that maybe I should check on them to make sure nothing has happened. After all, we don't need Hinata getting pregnant and I haven't shown her the birth control jutsu yet."

Following, it was Ino's turn to pale just a bit at the last part. "What do you mean she doesn't know it? I thought that was something that all Shinobi, male or female, had to know in case that sort of thing came up in a mission?"

"Remember Ino, they didn't teach that in the academy. They sent home letters for parents to teach it before graduation. Sadly, without a mom and a dad in denial, Hinata never learned and Naruto never had anyone to teach it to him. Neither of them would have thought to ask one of the nurses to teach it to them either like the kids without shinobi parents do. I didn't teach either one yet because I was afraid Hinata or Naruto might be just a little tempted to use it and not use it correctly."

Now Ino wasn't so sure it was a good thing to leave them alone. "I really don't want a bunch of pale eyed, blond haired idiots running around." A slight shiver ran down her spine. "No offense to Hinata, I've grown to love her like a sister, but I really think one Naruto is enough. This town isn't ready for a bunch of mini-Naruto's running around reeking havoc."

Tsunade on the other hand smiled slightly at that thought. _'Little Naruto babies running around... Sure he might be annoying, but I would love to help raise his kids. _Smirk _Between Hinata and I, we ought to be able to control the little devils.'_

Seeing the smirk, Ino couldn't help but comment. "You actually want little Naruto's running around don't you?" Tsunade saw Ino grin just like another blond she knew. "You are probably hoping to walk in on them right now aren't you?... I bet your a closet pervert just like Hinata is..." Ino laughed hard seeing the great and mighty Hokage stumble slightly in her walk.

"No! Thats not it at all..." _'Damn kids, no respect these days!'_ "True, I would love to see a bunch of blond haired gaki's running around... I would prefer that he wait till after the wedding to actually have any though."

_'After the wedding?... That makes it sound like they are already getting married. Did I miss something?'_ Ino was now slightly confused. _'Guess it might be time to drill Hinata for information later, make sure I didn't miss something.'_

Arriving outside the bedroom door the two blonds made there way in slowly. What they saw was Hinata laying beside Naruto with a pleased, though not overly pleased, looking smile with Naruto in a deep, and peaceful sleep. As they watch a moment Naruto shifted and, using his left arm, pulled Hinata, tight against his side. Hinata, still asleep somehow, responded by wrapping her legs around one of his and used her one free arm to hug him.

Smiling gently Tsunade moved over and threw a blanket over the happily sleeping couple before dragging Ino, who had an impish gleam in her eye's, away from them. "I think that it is best if we leave them be. After all the excitement that they had earlier they will probably sleep for a while."

Ino looked disappointed. "Fine... But you know, I think Naruto might be a closet pervert himself."

Tsunade whirled around on the young girl. "Listen, Hinata might be a closet pervert, but there is no way that Naruto is. He's too good for that. Anyway, Hinata's reaction isn't that unusual to have towards someone you love."

Ino's eyebrow cocked a little at after hearing the Hokage's response. "Why Hokage-sama, I do believe your trying to play the love doctor and get those two together."

_'If you only knew Ino that they were already going to be getting together her really soon.'_ "I don't think I will have to worry about that one bit Ino. I have a feeling it will all work out in the end."

Tsunade turned to continue back downstairs to relax, completely missing the look by Ino. _'Thats it, for Tsunade to not be worried about it, acting like it has all but already happened, something is up. I must know!'_

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_Namikaze Compound – Master Bedroom – 8:30 am Next Morning_

Naruto was having a very pleasant dream. He had arrived back in Konoha with Ero-sennin, saw Tsunade, had a pleasant conversation with Hiashi, and got to see Hinata topless. Yes, a very pleasant dream. As he started to stir though he noticed a slight weight and pressure along his left side. Opening his eyes he found himself looking down on a mess of dark, indigo colored hair. Suddenly his senses come to life and he remembered everything from the previous day. _'Shit! What am I going to do... I have to get out of here before she wakes up!... This just will not do... She will kill me for sure thinking I took advantage of her!... But whats that smell... Its so soothing... Is that lilac with a touch of lavender?'_ Realizing that it was coming from Hinata Naruto decided that he couldn't get up without waking her anyway so he might as well enjoy it.

Hinata for her part was starting to stir too. _'What a nice, soft, pillow... S_queeze _Such a soothing heartbeat too... ...Heartbeat?'_ Slowly opening her eye's Hinata is slightly startled to realize that she was actually holding onto someone else while laying in bed. Suddenly her memories returned of what had happened earlier (not realizing it was the next morning).

"I see your up Hime..."

Slightly startled by the voice Hinata quickly sat up a little and turned her head so that she was staring into startling blue eye's that seemed as deep as the ocean. Blush "Hello Naruto-kun... I'm sorry for falling asleep on you like that..." _ 'Not that I minded...'_

Smiling in return, with traces of a faint blush, Naruto stared back into Hinata's eye's. It reminded him of looking into a full moon on a quiet summers night. Sure, her eye's were by far better looking than the moon with their soft lavender tinting, but while he was away training, the full moon reminded him of his Hinata. "Its ok Hime, I didn't mind one bit... If fact... I really enjoyed it."

Immediately Hinata lit up with several different shades of red. _'Oh no oh no oh no!... What does he mean?! He really like it! Did something happen!? Do I still have my panties on!? Wait! I don't remember being under a cover when we went to sleep!! OH NO! What don't I remember!'_

Confused by the panic in Hinata's eye's, Naruto gently took her cheek in his hand and started rubbing with his thumb. "Whats wrong Hime?..." Seeing her glancing at them under the covers Naruto finally realized what was wrong. "Hinata-chan, don't worry. Nothing like that happened. I just slept really well last night with you by my side. Both Blush Also, I really liked waking up with you here. I'll admit, I panicked at first as I thought something must of happened... But then I smelt lilac and lavender. It was so soothing, the smell, that I just decided to enjoy myself."

Hinata was ever so slightly relieved, and disappointed, that nothing had happened. She was extremely pleased that Naruto had enjoyed waking up next to her though since that was important, to her, in a marriage. "Naruto-kun... I really enjoyed waking up with you too..." Hinata rested her head back down on Naruto's chest. After a moment it hit her and she bolted from the bed.

Startled by the sudden urgency that Hinata was showing Naruto got up and tried to figure out what was wrong. "Hime?... Hime? Hinata-chan?... Whats wrong? Is it something I can help with?" As he watched Hinata had found her clothing and disappeared into a walk-in closet to change. Standing outside the door he could hear her mumbling.

"Father is going to be so upset. He's going to kill me... I can't believe we spent all night together..."

Just as Naruto was about to say something Hinata came bursting back out of the closet fully dressed. Finally, for the first time, he was able to get a good look at Hinata. Her hair had grown and was pulled into a small ponytail that ended just between the shoulder blades with bangs that hung down in the front to frame her face slightly. For clothing she had on a snug black shirt with long sleeves, a light lavender colored loose fitting sleeveless vest, a pair of black shinobi pants that were taped at the bottom of each leg, with full toe shinobi sandals on her feet. She also had a kunai holster strapped to her left leg. Hinata had, he noticed, grown to a respectable 5'4" and under the clothes you could tell she had curves in all the proper places. (AN: No, I will not try to describe proportions right now, but know that she is firm and proportionate. This mean she won't have a chest the size of Tsunade's or hips that are wider than the Panama Canal.)

Hinata stopped mid step seeing Naruto just standing there, staring at her. "Is something wrong Naruto-kun?" Hinata started to check herself over just to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything.

"N-N-No Hinata-chan... I just... I mean... Blush" Naruto's mind just froze. Before he left his Hinata was definitely cute and very pretty. Now though, she was just gorgeous. Definitely far prettier than any of the women Jiraiya would sometimes show up with when he was drunk.

Seeing Naruto struggle Hinata couldn't help but turn a slight shade of red. _'Well, at least he's attracted to me. Then again, I might have to worry if he wasn't. Seems like most of the young men in this village are. Time for a little fun though.'_ Slowly, forgetting about her father for the moment, Hinata walked toward Naruto with a definite sway in her hips. "Naruto-kun, don't you find me attractive?" she purred out. When she reached him she slowly leaned onto his chest and started drawing with her finger on his muscles. _'I like that I can tease him like this. It's nice not being the one embarrassed for once.'_

Naruto, for his part, was trying to move at this point. He just wanted to grab his clothing and run and change somewhere away from Hinata. His body though seemed to reject this idea and refused to move in favor of staying near Hinata. As soon as she started to lean on him and trace idly on his chest he started to almost visible glow red. Hinata, seeing his full body blush, just giggled softly to herself. "Hinata-chan, can you not stand so close..."

Pout "Naru-kun... Do you not want me?" Hinata, looking him straight in the eyes continued. "Am I not beautiful enough for you Naruto?"

"NO! It's nothing like that Hinata-chan. I'm just worried... You keep acting like that and I might not be able to control myself much more." Naruto, able to move again, started stroking Hinata's cheek lightly. "If anything your to beautiful Hime. If I don't control myself... Well... You might get hurt, thats all."

Hinata, though slightly confused about the whole 'getting hurt' part, decided it was best to let it go. _"It must be something important to him. For now though I'll let it slide. There's no need to push for now."_ "Come on Naruto, I have to go talk to my dad about last night and would like it if you came."

"Ok, anything for you my Hinata-hime."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Hyuuga Hiashi was not having a good morning. First, while sitting at breakfast, he had found out that Hinata hadn't returned home the previous day. Second, the Hyuuga council had called him in for a meeting regarding his daughters. They had decided it was close enough to Hinata's birthday that she needed to either find a suitor or have one arranged for her. They had also decided that Hanabi should receive the Caged Bird Seal sooner rather than later stating that it was obvious that Hinata would do as the clan heir and they wouldn't need Hanabi. He had finally convinced them to wait because Hinata might end up marring someone from another clan, specifically an heir, and thus might not be able to fulfill that role in the Hyuuga's. Thirdly and lastly, there was Kiba. Ever since he had turned 16 he had been given partial control of his clan. The Inuzuka's system was based around dogs and as such, now that the heir was of age, he could challenge Tsume for control of the clan as the proper Alpha male. Of course, he couldn't take Tsume's seat on the clan council until he was 18 or she was dead, but that didn't matter. He still had some power within his own clan now just because his mother willingly gave it over to him, and that gave him a big head.

_--Flashback--_

_Hiashi had just finished his meeting with the Hyuuga clan council. They always tired him out something fierce, especially as of late. However he was able to hold them off just a little longer yet again this morning. In a matter of days the announcement of the Namikaze heir, Naruto, would solve everything._

_Slowly the door to his study slide open with Neji standing in it. "Hyuuga-sama, Inuzuka Kiba-sama is here and would like an audience with you." With a sigh Hiashi gestured to let him in signaling that he would see him. Neji reluctantly stepped away from the door for a moment before coming back through followed closely by Kiba. Neji proceeded to walk over and assume a position slightly beside and behind were Hiashi sat at his desk to act as a guard._

_Gesturing for Kiba to sit Hiashi decided to get it over with. "So Inuzuka-san, what brings you over to the Hyuuga's today?" Kiba had a rather smug look about him. Ever since his birthday 3 months ago he acted like he owned everything and had the right to be anywhere. This disgusted not only Hiashi, but Neji and most of the Hyuuga's couldn't stand him anymore._

"_Well Hiashi I was just wanting to talk to you about Hinata-chan." Kiba had a hint of lust in his eye's, like a dog during mating season._

_Hiashi and Neji's eyebrow's both twitched. It was so little most wouldn't have recognized it, but to another Hyuuga, it meant that both of them were now beyond annoyed and pissed. "Really? Do tell what it is that you wish to discuss that deals with Hinata-_san_."_

_Kiba was totally ignorant of the fact that he had already made both the other occupants of the room mad. "Why, I would like to ask for Hinata's hand in marriage. I know that she would make a great mate and would bear me strong offspring." Kiba smiled in a manner that again reminded Hiashi of a dog going after a another in heat._

"_And why would I marry her off? After all, it is her decision is it not who she will be wed to." Hiashi could hardly stand talking to the mutt in front of him. Normally he wouldn't judge someone so harshly, not after that night 3 years ago in the hospital had taught him some humility. Kiba though was rubbing him the wrong way in every direction it seemed._

"_Her decision? What do you mean? She's a women, a bitch just like the rest. They are only good for cleaning and breeding. If its money you want I will gladly pay to acquire her for myself."_

_Hiashi had heard enough. This insolent brat had the nerve to not only come here and not show him proper respect, but then imply that his Hinata was nothing more than a bitch good for only breeding and cleaning! No, that was it. Standing in a barely controlled rage Hiashi tried to keep his voice calm and neutral. "Kiba-san, I do believe that unless you have other matters to discuss that it is time for you to be leaving."_

_Kiba stood up with irritation clearly written on his face. Didn't they realize the deal that he was making for them? "Come now Hiashi. Who else will take her? I'm not only a clan heir but the leader in all but name. All the other clan leaders are either too old or married. And the male heirs to the major clans? They are all either spoken for or are to lazy to come and seek Hinata out." Kiba started to smile wickedly again. "No, I do believe that its time to sit back down to talk. What other choice do you have?" As he started to re-seat himself, smug in his confidence, he stopped when Neji approached from the side._

"_Kiba, last time I check this was the Hyuuga clan estates and I, Hyuuga Hiashi, not _Inuzuka Kiba_, was the clan head. You have now overstayed your welcome. Unless you want me to have Neji here throw you out like trash, I would recommend that you vacate the premises." Hiashi was almost spitting out the words they were laced with so much venom. At this point there was almost nothing holding him back._

_Kiba, finally seeing the position that he was in, decided that for now it might be best to leave. Turning he immediately left through the study door and, with Neji hot on his heels, proceeded out the front gates._

--End Flashback--

That had been almost an hour ago and Hiashi was just now starting to calm down. Figuring that he should address the one problem he still had from the morning, he had taken to searching for Hinata himself. Of course, he could have had Neji or some other branch member do it for him, but the walking helped to calm him down. Also, he had a fairly good idea where Hinata might have been and was headed there now.

As he slowly started making his way up the path towards the Namikaze estate Hiashi allowed a small smile to grace his face. '_This brings back some memories. I really do enjoy what Minato and Kushina did... The path is so peaceful and they built there home in perhaps one of the most beautiful area's around Konoha.'_ Hiashi was broken from his thoughts though by the sounds of arguing up ahead.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Kiba was angry. After being thrown out of the Hyuuga compound he had went off in search of Hinata. After all, he might not have convinced Hiashi of anything but all he really needed to do was get Hinata to accept his proposal and he would be all set. Well, that or use that old law he had found concerning clans and marriages, but that was a different bridge to cross at a different time. So, with Akamaru's help, the young Inuzuka had started searching for a recent sent. He was confused when the newest they could find was from the previous day. Following it they eventually started going up towards the Hokage's personal estate. '_Weird, I wonder what she is doing up here?... I can also smell the Hokage pretty strongly and... Ino?... Huh. Wait, who's this? A third mystery person?'_

Upon finally reaching the gates of the compound he spotted his target just emerging from the house. _'Must of had a late night working with the Hokage.'_ The next person to emerge though surprised him and upset him. At first Kiba just dismissed the person as a guard, until he noticed he wasn't wearing a standard Shinobi uniform. Second, he noticed the face of the person emerging. It was then that the smell from earlier clicked. _'Naruto.'_ Though older, and having a somewhat different smell to him now, _'Kitsune_?', then when he was younger, or at least he thought, he was still recognizable due to the hair, eyes, and weird whisker marks. What pissed him off though, what made his blood boil, was when Naruto and Hinata wrapped an arm around each other and proceeded to walk towards the gate. _'What is he doing with his arm around my woman? How dare he!'_

Naruto, after saying bye one final time to Tsunade and Shizune, had closed the door and was walking down the path arm in arm with Hinata. It was then that he sensed the slight killing intent coming from the gate area. Looking over at the area he noticed Kiba with what he assumed was a now overgrown Akamaru. Smiling Naruto waved at him with he free arm calling out. "Hey Kiba! Whats up you smelly Mutt? Something wrong?"

Hinata, who had just been too relaxed to notice anything, looked up at hearing Naruto call out. _'Kiba?'_ She really didn't want to put up with him. Ever since his birthday he had, in her opinion, been acting as bad as that stupid Uchiha had. There was a difference though in their respective attitudes. Unlike Sasuke, whom some now questioned as being gay, Kiba had, quiet literally, been sniffing around women recently.

--Flashback – 3 days ago--

_Hinata had been out practicing in training ground 7 near the memorial stone. It was one of her favorite spots to practice and train because Naruto used to train here with Team 7. Being here made it feel like he was still around sometimes. It was while she had leaned up against the same post that she knew Naruto had once been tied to that Kiba arrived interrupting her thoughts._

"_Why hello Hinata-chan, fancy meeting you out here." Kiba smirked as he approached Hinata._

_Hinata, for her part, wasn't pleased at all to see the onetime Inuzuka teammate. She had just finished some serious training and was daydreaming about her Naruto-kun when he interrupted her. Hinata also had heard the rumors that Kiba had, since his birthday, been turning slightly lecherous and chasing women around. Hinata decided to be polite and just hope that Kiba would leave soon. "Yes, well, it is quiet well known that I come here often to train." 'And to think of Naruto-kun, but I'll leave that out.' "May I help you with something? I was just about to start back in on my training."_

_Seeing Hinata rise from the ground Kiba's smirk widened as he became excited. Closing his eyes he slowly approached Hinata smelling the air around her. This of course made Hinata very agitated. Before she could say something Kiba spoke up. "Mmm... Hinata-chan... You smell delicious. Your natural scent mixed with that of sweat is absolutely intoxicating..."_

_Hinata was not only becoming increasingly uncomfortable, but also extremely upset. Kiba was now currently walking around her sniffing the air and eying her like some piece of meat to eat. "Kiba, I don't appreciate you looking at me in such a way. It is neither wanted or necessary."_

_Kiba, seemingly not hearing her, reached up and took a small bit of her hair in his hand to smell. Before he could smell it though Kiba found his hand slapped away. "Hey! Err... Don't you know its a compliment and honor to be selected by the Alpha male?"_

_Hinata was just stunned stupid. "Compliment?... Honor?!..." Turning on Kiba, who had made his way behind her Hinata was now pissed. "ALPHA MALE!! You, Inuzuka Kiba, are NOT the Alpha male around here. Nor am I some bitch that you can come sniffing around and hope to impress with your new found confidence and _power_." Hinata was sure to put as much venom and sarcasm into the last word as possible._

_Kiba waved his hands in front of him in a combination dismissive and protective manner. "Hey now. There's no need to get all upset. I was just trying to pay you a compliment." Kiba turned and finally started leaving. "Just remember, I am the Alpha male now."_

_After he had finally gotten a little ways off Hinata turned around and, in a cry of anger and frustration at one of the training logs (being careful subconsciously to not hit the one Naruto had been tied to years ago) she, with a single chakra enhanced Juuken strike, turned the log into splinters._

--End Flashback--

Smirk "Well well well... If it isn't the dead last, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto started scowling at the 'dead last' comment. Kiba though just started to look a little darker. "Now then, what are you doing with your arm around my girl?"

Both Hinata and Naruto were stumped by this comment. Hinata, recovering first, responded. "Your girl?! Since when have I ever shown an interest in you Kiba? And when did I become YOUR girl?" Turning to lean more into Naruto's side Hinata smirked right back at Kiba. "I've made my choice little puppy. Nobody can measure up to my Naru-kun here."

Naruto couldn't help but look down at Hinata and smile widely. Kiba though wasn't happy. "Why you little bitch. I'll show you who the top dog in this group is. I'm a Jounin and a clan leader while Naruto is a nothing Genin orphan!" Kiba was starting to get furious at being denied by what he considered his Hinata. "As the Alpha I'm claiming you as mine Hinata."

Hinata wasn't hearing any of this though. "Inuzuka, I'm giving you one warning as the apprentice of the Hokage. You are to remove yourself from the Hokage's property and not return without invitation."

Kiba just scoff at this. "What are you talking about? We are all clearly outside the compound which means we are back on Konoha public property."

Hinata couldn't help but let the huge smirk appear on her face. "I do believe that you are mistaken Inuzuka. The property extends all the way back down the mountain to the start of the path that leads up to the gate. This wall only encompasses the main household and out-buildings. The land outside it though is still the Hokage's property... Also, I am not some _thing_ that you can just claim as yours. I don't care who you are, I don't love you... In fact, the longer I've talked to you recently to less I even like you."

Growling Kiba took a step forward. "I don't care if you are the Hokage's apprentice, I will not be thrown off this land by you! Also, you WILL be coming with me!"

Naruto, who had been quiet the entire time, noticed the sudden aggressiveness in Kiba posture. Silently he moved Hinata so that he was standing slightly in front of her. During the entire conversation Naruto had been stunned. He had always known that Kiba could be brash and blunt, but this was ridiculous. After all, even he, dense as he was, could tell that Hinata didn't want anything to do with him currently. "Kiba, I don't know whats going on here, but its obvious even to me that Hinata wishes to be left alone by you."

"You stay out of this Naruto, nobody asked you for your opinion." Kiba was now beyond pissed. "If she won't come willingly then I will take her by force!"

This was the scene that Hiashi walked in on. There stood Kiba, no more than 50 feet from Naruto and Hinata, just outside the gates of the old Namikaze compound, moving to attack the two of them. Seeing this, Hiashi rushed forward, hoping to stop it and intercept Kiba, but knew he wouldn't make it. He was still over 100 feet back and didn't have the speed to intercept the Inuzuka.

Kiba took off running at the two of them, with his eye's clearly set on get Hinata. "Tsuuga!" Quickly Kiba became a spinning human drill aimed right at the pair.

Hiashi, still charging forward, couldn't believe that the young Inuzuka would be so brash and stupid to attack them here, right in front of the 'Hokage's Mansion'. It was then that he noticed Naruto's movements. First, he had moved to stand in front of Hinata just before Kiba had moved to attack. Second, just as Kiba actually made his move Naruto had dropped into some kind of sword stance that Hiashi couldn't recognize.

Naruto, after seeing Kiba prepare to attack had acted quickly. Moving to protect Hinata he had dropped himself into a basic battojutsu stance. Quickly, almost to quick for most people to follow, Naruto in one swift draw intercepted Kiba in his Tsuuga attack and knocked him away. Moving quickly Naruto reversed his blade holding the inner curve up to the now downed Kiba.

"What the hell was...!" Kiba started before being interrupted by the presence of Naruto and his blade. However, what really stunned him was the look in Naruto's eye's. It wasn't killing intent that he felt, it was something else.

"Inuzuka-san, it would be wise of you to remove yourself from this property immediately. I do not take kindly to attacks made against myself or those that are precious to me." Naruto removed his blade and held the Katana with the curve up in front of him. "You should be happy. If my master hadn't insisted that I carry this Sakabato, you would be walking away right now with more than a bruised ego."

Kiba, finally climbed back to his feet and just smirked at the couple. "Don't worry, this isn't over. You just got in a lucky hit, thats all!" Spotting the Hokage emerging from the house now and Hiashi now standing near Hinata, Kiba decided it was best for a tactical retreat and quickly took off down the path.

Naruto replaced the sword at his side before he turned back toward everyone. Laughing nervously at the look he was receiving from both Tsunade and Hiashi, he started to scratch the back of his head. "So... That was really weird. I wonder why Kiba was acting like that. I mean, sure, he could be brash and all, but he was a nice guy last I knew."

Tsunade and Hiashi were just stumped by this. Here he was, just a moment ago, holding the back side of his sword to the young Inuzuka's throat talking in a very deadly tone all while being very serious. Now, he was just acting like it was a carefree day and nothing had happened. Hinata though didn't care. All she cared about was that Naruto had stepped in the way of the attack and took Kiba on to protect her. He had protected her from Kiba. Sure, she could have taken him out, but that doesn't matter, what matter was she didn't have to take him out. He did it for her!

Finally freeing herself of the slight shock, then stupor that she had been in, Tsunade finally spoke up. "Well, that was interesting. Now, since Hiashi is here why don't we return to the house. After all, the reason for your two's leaving was to look for him to speak with. And I still have some things that I need to discuss with the two of you about what will be happening later today."

Hinata realized that her father was there for the first time. "Father... May I ask what brings you by the Hokage's Mansion so early?"

Hiashi turned to look at his daughter with a serious, but neutral look. "You may. I was actually coming for two reasons. First was to warn you about the Inuzuka and a _talk_ that we had had earlier." Hiashi's look suddenly turned almost mischievous. This was a look that had started showing up once in a while when he was around Tsunade, Kakashi, or Hinata. Sometimes it was brought on by talking about Minato and Kushina, other times it was because he was about to say or do something that would make the council elders cry out in indignity if they knew. "Second was to find out why my daughter thought it best to not wait for wedlock to bed her man down. Come now Hinata... I know you look like your mother but shouldn't you show a little self-control and not jump the poor kid the second he comes back like she would have me?"

Hinata, hearing this, just turned a bright shade of red. She might have gained a lot of confidence over the years but this was too much. Especially since it was coming from her own father with Naruto and Tsunade present. "I-I-I-I don't know w-w-w-what you mean father!... You know I would never do anything to dishonor you in such a way. Thats why we were coming to see you this morning!"

"Oh? Seeking permission out your father this morning perhaps?" Tsunade had decided to have just a bit of fun. "Perhaps last night was enough to make you want to 'dishonor' him and you thought he might give you permission to let Naruto take your flower?"

Naruto, for his part, just stood there. He knew what they were talking about, but he just couldn't get over the fact that they were talking about it like they were. Seeing that Hinata though was getting more and more flustered Naruto decided that it might be time to go inside before his Hime fainted from what was being said. "Hey guys, leave Hinata alone." Seeing the two adults look at him he pushed on. "Lets go back inside were we can be comfortable like Granny said and then you can continue this talk there." Stepping up to Hinata he quickly took her hand and started back up towards the house.

Tsunade, who was slightly irritated at the granny comment, just shrugged if off for now. "Shall we Hiashi?"

With just a bit of a curl to his lip, which Tsunade recognized as a smile, Hiashi responded. "We shall... But tell me, did something serious happen last night? I really don't want to be a grandfather already."

Tsunade, laughed loudly, and just started back up the path quickly explaining the events of the previous day as she knew them.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

A/N: Any questions about what happened during the fight should wait till after the next chapter. It will explain most, if not all, of it. I will try to have it out sooner than I did this one.

Also does anyone know why my stars I put around things (like some smirks and sighs) don't show up? Any help would be appreciated.


	4. Sensei vs Student, The Test!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Anime for that matter. Oh well.

**Chapter 4 – Sensei vs. Student, The Test!**

To say that Inuzuka Kiba wasn't happy would be an understatement. He was pissed. Hinata had refused him twice now. To make matters worse, whenever he had went to attack Hinata and Naruto, Akamaru had refused to join in. At first Kiba had thought that Akamaru just hadn't been ready when Kiba attacked but soon after leaving he realized that, even after his defeat, Akamaru hadn't come to his defense or aid. When questioned Akamaru just whined that it wasn't right and that they were friends and fellow Konoha Shinobi. This served to further enraged the young Inuzuka who had sent Akamaru away informing him that he would be punished properly once he returned home. Now Kiba was just walking down the busy streets of Konoha fuming.

"Stupid dobe and that bitch..... I will make sure that they both pay for this humiliation..." muttered the visibly pissed Inuzuka.

"Excuse me, sir, may I have a moment of your time?"

Kiba, hearing someone call to him turned around to see who would dare disturb him while he was pissed. The man was in civilian clothing and was rather plain and ordinary looking. Whoever it was they had now become his new target and he would like nothing more than to vent. "Whoever you are, you only have a few seconds to convince me that I shouldn't kill you right now... -Smirk- If you're lucky I might only beat you a little."

The man didn't seem disturbed at all by the Inuzuka's threats. Instead, he calmly neared Kiba so that, while not overly close, he was close enough that he could speak softly with very little chance of being overheard. "I am nothing but a messenger Inuzuka-san. My master would be greatly honored by your presence and would like to discuss recent events with you..."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

After the incident with Kiba, Tsunade, Hiashi, Hinata, and Naruto had returned inside the former clan home and sought out the living room so as to have comfortable seating. Hinata and Naruto not surprisingly decided to take seats next to each other on the only love seat present while Hiashi and Tsunade took seats opposite them on a large and comfortable couch. It was obvious that Naruto and even more so Hinata were nervous while the other two watched them silently. Naruto couldn't stand it any longer.

"Hiashi-san, Granny, could one of you please say something? This is really starting to weird me out... This just sitting here staring at each other..." Naruto squirmed ever so slightly while staying next to Hinata.

Tsunade couldn't help the twitch that developed at hearing his nickname for her and it didn't help that she could swear she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Hiashi smirk right after he said it. Keeping herself calm and in control for now, Tsunade decided that test later would be vengeance enough. "I just thought that, since you two were on your way out to talk to Hiashi maybe one of you would wish to start the speaking. I mean, the person you wanted to speak with is just sitting here waiting patiently and you did say, before coming in, to leave Hinata alone." Tsunade gestured slightly to her left were Hiashi was just down from her.

Hiashi perked up a bit at this. "Oh? The two of you were truly seeking me out? Perhaps, it was to explain why my daughter was out all night without permission and with a male. Not to mention that said male happens to be her fiancé and I would rather such things as last night happened after the wedding." Hinata instantly reddened again while Naruto was starting to fidget. Hiashi, seeing them for his part was dying on the inside of laughter since Tsunade had already told him when they weren't listening that nothing truly inappropriate had happened. At least, as far as she knew and it had been too long since he could just be himself around a friend like he and his wife were with Minato and Kushina.

Naruto slowly started to stammer out a small sentence clearly worried that Hiashi and Tsunade, whom he thought to be kidding around outside, might have the wrong idea. "I-I-I don't k-k-know what you a-a-a-are referring to H-Hiashi-san......"

It was taking all Hiashi's years of control to keep from laughing. Earlier Naruto hadn't been bothered at all by the joking around, but now with the rush of battle wearing off and they being in a more comfortable setting he seemed panicky. "I think that you both know exactly to what I am referring. I just ask that you be discreet and careful." Hiashi couldn't help the small smirk that started to form after seeing the to young ones in front of him reach new levels of color. ".....After all, while I don't mind the thought, I would rather not end up a Grandfather quiet yet."

That was straw that broke the proverbial camels back. Hinata promptly fainted dead to the world with an extremely large grin on her face and a small dribble of blood leaving her nose. Naruto upon hearing this froze as his brain, for the first time since he had left with Ero-sennin, shut down and refused to work from the overload of what Hiashi just said. Tsunade? She had already told Hiashi most of what she knew so it took only a moment to realize what he was doing. He was having a bit of fun at both Naruto and Hinata's expense and she was enjoying the show. Seeing all this Hiashi couldn't help the uncharacteristic out loud laugh that escaped him.

Naruto wasn't sure as to what to think. Had Hiashi lost his mind? Or perhaps he had had his morning tea spiked by someone. Tsunade, deciding this was the best time to show Hiashi the tape and thus get the final laugh, pulled out a small camcorder and played back the tape in it while Naruto started to wake Hinata up.

"Mmmm..... Faster Naru-kun... I need it.... I've been naughty... Spank me Naru-kun....."

Hiashi, who hadn't at first been paying attention to the little screen on the camcorder whipped around and looked at it. What he saw and heard made him pale as he looked back over at the couple on the love seat. Tsunade had neglected to tell him this part of the prior days events. Hinata who had awakened was once again turning red while Naruto was trying, bless his heart, to hide the blood trying to leak out of his nose at hearing this.

Clearing his throat to get everyones attention, Hiashi spoke up with a slight smirk. "Well... Seems I wasn't wrong earlier in having to worry about Hinata trying to do something and taking advantage of our poor Naruto. I was just joking around but perhaps you are a bit more like your mother than I thought."

"NANI!?!?!" Everyone present looked at the now redder (_'I haven't seen her that red in a while...' thought Tsunade_) Hinata sitting by the once again frozen Naruto. "I-I mean... I would n-n-never take advantage of my N-N-Naruto-kun like that father..." Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand slightly, bring him back to the land of the living were he proceed to smile at Hinata. "Anyway... N-N-Nothing happened last n-night."

Hiashi quirked an eyebrow at this statement and gestured to the camcorder. "I know that you would never try to consciously take advantage of Naruto dear, and I do not think that either of you would dishonor your parents by not waiting till the blessed day. In the tape after all you don't appear to be quiet all there." Hiashi let a small grin play across his face. ".....Blame Minato and Kushina for earlier as I was just trying to have a little fun as they, so long ago, taught me was necessary from time to time."

"...Thats ok and if what you said yesterday was true about my being like my parents, then I'm sure both of them are rolling around laughing up in heaven right now." Naruto being a former master of pranks, understood what Hiashi had just done, twice, and had to congratulate him on pulling it off. _'Heck, I doubt I could have pulled all that off with a straight face even. The first time outside was obvious but this second time.... -Whistles- Not even I could have pulled that off.'_

Hiashi, hearing this and seeing that Hinata now understood what happened allowed a smile to grace his lips yet again. "However, upon seeing this tape I am now very curious as to what did happen here last night since it seems that Tsunade left a little bit out. Or, might I say, edited it." He turned to give Tsunade a knowing grin.

"I think I can answer that better than they might be able to Hiashi-san." Tsunade then proceeded to retell Hiashi about the previous day. Unlike last time she told him (when entering the house), she didn't leave out Naruto's little misfortune in the bath house and what Ino had proceeded to do to both of the young adults in the room. "And that should bring you up to this morning. I would have told you the first time but I wanted to do it this way so I could see their reactions to the tape along with yours..." Seeing Hiashi smile a little and nod in understanding, Tsunade turned to address the other two. "Which reminds me, I'm a very curious about what Kiba was doing here and why he attacked you."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama..." Seeing Tsunade's eyebrow twitch, Hiashi quickly correct. "...I mean, Tsunade-san, but I might have an idea as to why _Kiba_ was here." All present were surprised at the venom in his voice at the mention of young Inuzuka's name. "Like I said outside, I had come here not only to inquire as to my daughter but to warn you of the young _mutt_. Just this morning he had the nerve to come to my home and, for all intent and purposes, demand that I make my precious daughter his new bride. He showed no respect for me or my house from the moment he stepped through my office door. I can only assume that after he left my presence he went looking for Hinata there to try and win her over."

Hinata wasn't surprised by Kiba's actions, especially with what had happened days before. "Just a few days ago he came literally sniffing around me at the training ground I frequent. He claimed to be the _Alpha Male_ and that it was an honor for him to be checking me out. -Smirk- I told him to back off and that I wasn't some common bitch that he could come sniffing around hoping to take as his own."

Tsunade wasn't too surprised by any of this. She had had complaints coming in from various women all over the village for the past month or so and talked to Kiba on more than one occasion. It seemed now it was time to fulfill her threats she had made to him if he didn't straighten out. "I have warned Kiba that, if this didn't stop, steps would be taken to insure the peace and safety of the people of my village. As such he will be removed from his position as a Shinobi of Konoha and placed under surveillance to make sure that he doesn't try anything so stupid or forward again."

Naruto was now growing more confused by the second. _'Kiba has had a series of complaints against him? He's been _sniffing_ around Hinata... Literally?! What the hell is going on around here? I'm gone for 3 years and everyone changes! Hiashi is nice... Ok, only in private, but still. Hinata is really confident... Not that I mind, not at all! I always knew that she was strong! Ino has become more... Mischievous? And Kiba... What the hell has happened to him?'_ "Excuse me..." Seeing the other three now look at him, Naruto felt very uncomfortable having just interrupted their conversation. "Could someone explain to me what is going on? Why is Kiba acting this way now?"

It was now that everyone realized that Naruto had been uniquely quiet the entire time they had been discussing Kiba. Of course! He had been gone for 3 years and wouldn't know what was happening to anyone in the now christened Konoha 11. Hinata turned so that she was now sitting facing him on the love seat. "Naruto? Dear, do you know when Kiba's birthday is?" Seeing his blank look she continued. "Naruto his birthday was a few months ago and he's now 16. That means in the eyes of his clan he is now as the first born male of the Alpha, or Clan Head, by birthright their leader. Of course he was supposed to have to challenge his mom, Inuzuka Tsume, for the position but she decided to just let him have it. Now, Konoha council law states that until Tsume dies or he turns 18 he won't be able to represent his clan on the Clan Council but that hasn't stopped him from becoming an arrogant ass."

Hearing this, especially the last part, Naruto gasped slightly. "Hinata! I thought that Kiba was your friend? You told me that you looked up to him as an older brother!"

Hinata smiled kindly at Naruto while reaching up and rubbing his whisker marks gently. She was pleasantly surprised when Naruto's eyes fluttered for a second and a slight purring sound could be heard coming from him. _'Mental note, Naru-kun likes his whisker marks being rubbed. They must be sensitive.'_ "Naruto-kun, please understand that Kiba has changed. After you left and I became the Hokages apprentice I didn't get to spend much time with Kiba. He started changing ever so slightly over time... I know that he used to have a crush on me but I thought that he had realized, seeing us together that week before you left, that I only wanted you. It seems though that without myself around to help keep him in line he has only grown more reckless and bold. -Sigh- Now he acts worse that the Uchiha did before he left. He is no longer a brother or a friend to me."

When Hinata mentioned the Uchiha both Hiashi and Tsunade winced. They watched Naruto closely to judge his reaction to not only the information about Kiba, but also the mentioning of the Uchiha. To both Hiashi and Tsunade's surprise Naruto didn't seem to have a reaction to the mentioning of the Uchiha. In fact after he just sat there for a moment he leaned over and took Hinata protectively in his arms.

Naruto had seen the pain in his soon-to-be wife's eyes. While he had no doubt that she no longer looked to Kiba as a bother, there was also no doubt that she still felt some pain over the loss. _'It must not have truly started to sink in that he was changed until just a short time ago on his birthday. I had a whole 3 years to prepare and get over the bond that Sasuke-teme had broke, but Hinata is just now getting the chance to heal..... Well she won't have to go through it alone like I did! I will be here for her.'_ Moving so that he could pull Hinata to him he wrapped his arms around her before whispering to her. "I know what its like... To lose a brother... While I was gone I had time to heal the wound that Sasuke left. I can tell your still hurt though... The wound is still fresh for you... Please, I want to let you know that I am here for you..." Naruto pulled back just enough to put there foreheads together with the tips of their noses touching. He looked into her beautiful eyes and held her gaze for a moment before continuing in a whisper still, seeing the tears ready to come forth in the corners of her eyes. "I want to help you through this. All I had was Ero-sennin since I was gone training... -Small Chuckle- And he wasn't any help at all, the old pervert!... I promise to help however I can."

Hinata let a small smile and chuckle escape her lips. _'Oh Naruto... I had forgotten about that Uchiha-teme and how you felt for him... I can only imagine that this must be somewhat how you felt when he betrayed you and then tried to kill _you...' Hinata could feel the tears threaten to come back now. '_No, you had it worse... Kiba is still here. He just won't leave me alone and has become a jerk. Sasuke actually tried to kill you... You can't hide from me Naruto. You say your over it but I can still see the lingering pain..... And yet you still promise to be here for me... And your promise is your bond, its our Nindo.'_ "Naru-kun.... I love you, and I'm glad your here for me, but I want to be here for you too. If you ever want to talk, just let me know and I'll be here. Thats my promise to you."

Naruto heard her whisper and knew she had seen pain in his eyes. He thought that by now he had what little pain remained pretty well hidden but if Hinata had been able to see that very small amount of hidden pain though, he knew she must really care for him. _'My Hime.... How could I have missed this for so long?...'_ "As I am here for you....."

Then, without warning, Naruto shifted his head and gave Hinata her first kiss. It wasn't long and it wasn't passionate, but what it was was sweet, simple, and filled with honest, clean and pure love. It seemed like an eternity for Hinata and she was so surprised that by the time the kiss ended she hadn't even closed her eyes. Through the daze, before Naruto pulled away completely, she heard his gentle whisper of "I love you." against her lips. Hinata was on cloud 9 after the kiss and was left in a complete daze after hearing his confession of love. If the look on Naruto's face was any indication he was there with her and didn't want to leave. That though was not meant to be.

Tsunade and Hiashi had been quiet during the entire exchange. Although they had been whispering both were able to read Naruto's lips after he had moved his head in front of hers. They had also just barely caught his proclamation of love after the kiss. They both felt a little ashamed at watching the young couple in front of them, but neither let it bother them to much as they were in the living room and had been there the entire time. Its not like they had sneaked in and sat down to watch it all. Neither wanted to break the moment either, but Tsunade still had a few things to say to them so that she could go ahead and make the final preparations for later.

"Excuse me, if you two love birds are done now I would like to say a few things." Tsunade grinned seeing the two of them snap out of their respected dazes and suddenly turn back to them surprised, looking like they forgot they were there. "Yes, we are both still here you two. Now later today I'm going to have the both of you tested to find out about your new abilities. We already got a sneak peak earlier of your abilities Naruto. It looks like you were telling the truth about having been trained to use that sword you carry too." -Smirk-

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, like I told you earlier, I've been trained with it. What you saw earlier though was just a very basic Battojutsu stance that any beginner would know."

Hiashi's eyebrow quirked a bit at this. "Naruto, I don't think just any beginner would know it. I have some light training with a sword myself, and I have never seen that stance before. Also, I've never heard of that kind of sword before either, a Sakabato, except in passing. If you would be so kind as to explain these to us?..."

"Well, I will just tell you that Battojutsu is just the 'Art of Drawing the Sword', or something like that. Basically, its a series of stances which focus on properly drawing the Katana and making one or more strikes in quick session. These are meant to be the only strikes needed verses an opponent. As to my Sakabato..." Naruto slowly and gently pulled the sword out of its saya and held it for all three of them to see. "As you can tell, the blade is on the reverse side of the Katana making this a 'non-killing' blade. My master insisted I take this weapon instead of a normal blade before teaching me. Of course I can still kill with it and thats one of the reasons for there to still be a blade on the back side. Also, if I focus a little wind chakra into the edge it can cut thru most anything even though its as blunt looking as a rock."

Everyone just stared in amazement at Naruto and the sword. The sword itself seemed fairly normal in appearance with a plain guard and wrap. The saya they noticed was also just a plain black lacquered wood. After a moment though something struck Tsunade. "Naruto, did you say _'focus your wind chakra'_?"

"Yes. Himura-sensei insisted that I learn to start using my elemental chakra and find out what it was. Also, with it being wind he was able to teach me a few more things that I otherwise couldn't have used." Seeing the questioning looks presented to him Naruto decided to stave of any questions. "No, I will not be telling you about them so you'll just have to wait and see. Also I will not teach anyone my skills Granny unless they come from my clan."

Tsunade let a small smile grace her lips while Naruto returned his sword and placed across his lap while he sat. "Already planning on having secret clan only techniques Naruto? And here I thought you would only have the Rasengan as a clan only Jutsu... Its good to see that you're planning ahead already for the protection and success of your family."

Naruto and Hinata both blushed at the comments about Naruto's clan and family. They both also had small, but content smiles on their faces. Naruto was happy of the praise he was receiving from Tsunade because, though he might not admit it, her opinion mattered greatly to him. Hinata though was smiling knowing that Naruto, her Fiancé, was already planning for their family and doing what he could to keep their future secure.

"Naruto, you need to report to the Chunin selection exams public arena today. Hinata the same goes for you too though you won't be doing any combat." Standing up to leave so she could get some paperwork done and discreetly alert some people to the afternoon _'test'_, she took one last look at the young couple. "Be there by 3 this afternoon and don't be late. Also come prepared for full combat Naruto." After seeing both of them nod in confirmation Tsunade continued on out the door.

Rising from his seat with a grace that was dignified, Hiashi turned to address his daughter and her Fiancé before leaving. "Hinata, Naruto, I expect to see great things from you this afternoon and know that I won't be disappointed."

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_Chunin Selection Arena – 2:30 pm_

Slowly, at a steady pace, the higher ranked shinobi had been filtering into the arena for the last 2 hours along with most of the council and a few civilians. So far approximately 15 Jounin and a select few Chunin had arrived along with 20 non-shinobi. These were the people that had heard or been informed about the test that was to occur. These were also the people that either helped Naruto, or in the very least, showed that they did not base their actions towards him because of prejudice. They were all people he had to at least a small degree earned the respect of.

Naruto and Hinata were standing down below in the middle of the arena grounds. They had both decided to get there a bit early so they would be able to see who was there to watch them. Naruto had known that Tsunade would tell people about this. After all, the only reason to use the arena and not a training ground was because of the seating and viewing possibilities. As such, though Hinata didn't agree that there would be many people there, they had both arrived just a few minutes prior to now having spent the entire day so far just talking and catching up some.

"Wow...." Naruto let one of his large, over-sized, fox like grins spread across his face before turning to address Hinata. "See? I told you that Granny couldn't resist the urge to tell people. I'm just glad that no one here seems to openly hate me."

Hinata was just stunned. She wasn't actually sure what her test would be today since Tsunade had just the prior week tested her combat capabilities and found her satisfactory. The only thing left for her to test was her abilities as a med-nin. Stealing a glance at Naruto after his deceleration, Hinata started to scan the crowd. "It appears that all of the Konoha 11 are here, minus Kiba, and our Senseis as well..." Everyone was talking about them it appeared when she noticed something and turned to Naruto. "Wait... I don't see Kakashi-sensei in the stands. Wouldn't he want to see your test?"

While still eying the crowd Naruto just smiled hearing Hinata voice her concerns about his former teacher. "Don't worry about him. He's probably just running late. I mean, that man would be late for his own funeral... -Chuckle- Which would probably happen after being late for his wedding... Hey, Iruka-sensei is here as well!" Naruto, having spotted one his first close and precious people waved largely at the man.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

Up in the stands people were discussing the upcoming test and what the results would be. Among them, all the Jounin Senseis had grouped together having a seat in the front row. Whatever the outcome it was sure to be a good show.

"Don't you think Naruto's dress odd Asuma? He looks like one of those old fashioned samurai." Kurenai had arrived just before Naruto and taken a seat by Asuma and Gai. Naruto had, before coming, changed once again into a new outfit. He had only the two and this one was his favorite as it was the most comfortable. It was nothing more than a simple pair of white pants and a dark red shirt (**AN: Looks like Kenshin expect with a dark red top. If someone can give me the names for these pieces of clothing it would be appreciated.**). Because of the style it also allowed for a full range of motion with almost no resistance for his swordplay. While he wouldn't normally wear it unless going to a semi-formal event, this was a special occasion and was worn to honor his missing Sensei.

Asuma for his part was just slightly stunned as he had seen that clothing before. While working as a guardian of the Fire Daimyou, he along with his fellows had come to know of a special assassin used by the Lord. This assassin was used when the Daimyou didn't want any evidence of Konoha being involved. He had only seen this, _Hitokiri_ _Battosai_, once while the man did some training. Hearing Kurenai he stole a sideways glance at her. No one here would probably understand the possible implications of what Naruto was wearing outside of him. "I think that this fight might be more intense than we first thought." Both Kurenai and Gai, who had been listening to Kurenai also, raised an eyebrow at this and gave him a questioning gaze. -Sigh- "Lets just say I've only seen one other person who used a sword and wore clothing almost identical to that."

Gai returned his gaze to the arena floor before voicing his thoughts. "I've seen one person that wore clothing such as this once while on a mission before with my Genin team. He was a very youthful person and his flames of youth burned brightly! If young Naruto has taken inspiration from this man then I believe that you are correct. We are indeed in for a youthful show!"

Kurenai wasn't sure. While Gai seemed enthused about the fight and talking about the man he had met before, Asuma gave of a feeling of dread. She would just have to wait and see the results for herself.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

It was just a minute before 3 when the Godaime Hokage herself showed up on the arena floor in front of Hinata and Naruto smiling at the couple. Just after her appearance there was a poof of smoke and there stood Kakashi, still reading his orange book. "Sorry for being late guys. I had to help another traveler find his way after he got lost on the road of life." Naruto and Hinata both had looks on there faces that just screamed confusion and disbelief while Tsunade was smiling widely at the always late shinobi. -Sigh- "I'm not late am I?"

"Nope. You see Kakashi, I knew that you would be late so I purposely told you the wrong time. I wasn't sure that it would work or not and when you would arrive, but it appears that you made it right on time for once." Tsunade was grinning like a madwomen before turning back to the shinobi there for the test. "Ok. Hinata, I want you to go up and wait in the contestant area while Naruto, you will fight against Kakashi. The test will be to see how much your skills have improved against an elite Jounin. However, I don't care whether you win or not as that isn't the point. Hinata your job will be to heal them after the match. This way I can now see how well your skills as a Med-nin have progressed for field work instead of always being in a hospital with all the proper equipment and medicine easily available. Of course, if the wounds turn out to be too sever I'll step in and we will move them to the hospital for better care and then its your job to help me make them stable enough for transport back to proper care facilities. Ok?"

Both Hinata and Naruto nodded in affirmation that they understood before turning to each other. "Hinata, try to heal Kakashi-sensei best that you can after this is all over." -Smirk-

Hinata let a small, exasperated sigh leave her lips while gently shaking her head. "I'll heal whoever it might be that gets hurt, especially if its you." Leaning in she gave Naruto a gentle kiss on the cheek before turning to leave. "For luck..... Also, please be careful."

With Hinata's departure Naruto returned his attention to the Hokage and Kakashi. "So, I'm ready to begin whenever you are."

Tsunade, hearing this moved off to one side. "I'll be referring this match. What I say goes, got it? Also I would prefer that you two don't kill each other. Otherwise, begin whenever."

Kakashi hearing this pulled his head band up off his Sharingan Eye while also pulling out his old ANBU sword he had brought under the advisement of Tsunade. "I won't be taking this lightly Naruto. I can tell that you've become stronger in your travels. I will not make this easy for you. Now lets see just how good you are with a sword."

Kakashi disappeared in an instant reappearing behind Naruto going for quick win with a slash across his back. Imagine everyones surprise when Naruto spun around drawing his blade blocking Kakashi's. After a few seconds of pushing on each other they both moved back. Before Kakashi could say anything Naruto was on him delivering a flurry of lightening fast strikes before they both disengaged again.

Up in the stands everyone was gaping at what they had just seen. While not as well known for it as he was his Sharingan eye, Kakashi was extremely talented with a sword. In fact, with the death of Hayate he might have been the best left in the village.

Asuma though was stunned and concerned. This was the style of the _Battosai_. It was like watching him train again. "Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu."

Kurenai turned to Asuma. "What did you say Asuma?"

Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts Asuma turned to look at not only Kurenai but Gai who was also listening intently. "Hiten Mitsurugi-Ryu, thats the style he's using. Its considered by some to be the ultimate style of swordplay. Its lightening fast and capable of taking on multiple opponents at a time. Its also a very lethal technique with only one master that I'm aware of..." Seeing the questioning looks he was receiving he decided to elaborate. "_Hitokiri Battosai,_ an assassin that was personally hired and controlled by the Fire Daimyou. This was the style that he utilized when training and killing his targets. While he wasn't a Shinobi, his speed was such that it would surpass all Chunin and could stand up evenly to most Jounin..... He was a literal demon on the field from what I heard."

Back on the field Kakashi was sizing Naruto up. _'Such speed, and for someone so young. I could have sworn though that I could see chakra seeping out of him the entire time he was moving yet he wasn't using it in his muscles. I wonder what that could mean.'_

Naruto though was debating whether or not to try to attack him full bore or not. He knew that if Kakashi started to use ninjutsu on him he would be in trouble. While he had a fair amount at his disposal he also knew that his strength lay with his sword. Finally deciding he slowly slide into a lower stance. Without warning he shot forward like he was launched from a cannon. As he approached Kakashi a cry of "Kuzu-ryusen" was heard.

Kakashi wasn't sure what to do. As Naruto approached he could see what looked like 9 different swords coming at him point first and he couldn't seem to move. Then, at the last second his Sharingan finally broke through the technique and he was barely able to make out that the only real sword was aimed at his lower right abdomen. Twisting as fast as possible Kakashi is barely able to dodge the strike and took no damage.

Landing behind where Kakashi was Naruto turned to look at his Sensei. "You dodged the strike?... I guess I shouldn't be surprised with the Sharingan you might be able to see through it."

Kakashi knew then and there that to win he would have to change his strategy. Leaping back he started flying through hand seals. "I see its time to take it up a notch. Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" The fire moved quickly at Naruto.

"Shit!" _'It appears that this fight just become a lot harder.'_ Focusing as much wind chakra as he could into his sword Naruto brought it up in a slashing motion and seemingly cut the fire in half. As the fire moved past him he was still slightly burned along the edges of his clothing and could feel the heat on his skin. _'If that had hit full on I would have been a goner! Damn! He really isn't playing anymore.'_

As the fire died down and Naruto could see again he spotted Kakashi in front of him forming more hand seals. "Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu!" From a small pond off to one side in the arena a pair of water columns rose up and moved at Naruto. This time Naruto was unable to dodge or deflect the attacks and as the water columns hit Naruto was forced back eventually hitting the arena wall. After the attack ended Naruto felt like hell. He felt beaten and his clothing was soaked and ripped up slightly. Naruto then spotted Kakashi moving at him with his sword pulled back for a thrust. Once again they both lock into a duel of swords.

_'I'm not going to win at this rate. If I can just get behind him or catch him off guard one more time I know I could win.'_ Waiting for the next block Naruto decides on a course of action. Once again he focuses chakra into his blade but this time it is not only focused along the edge of the blade but is rotating up and down along it. When their blades meet again Kakashi is surprise to find that his is literally bounced back off Naruto's blade. As soon as the blade bounces Naruto releases one of his hands and forms a Rasengan in it. "Rasengan!" The attack makes contact with the target and while Kakashi just smiles as he goes 'poof'. "Kage Bushin!"

Kakashi seeing his chance to surprise his student moves from hiding underground and strikes out hard with is sword. Naruto spun around as soon as he heard Kakashi coming out of the ground behind him. As Kakashi is rising up he brings his sword up in a slash and is surprised that it actually connects and cuts up across Naruto's chest in starting just above his right hip and ending at his left shoulder. Before the blood spray could even end Naruto had thrust his sword forward and, sharpening the end of his sword with a little wind chakra, through Kakashi's chest.

"Hehe... Looks like we both got hit." Naruto couldn't help but have a cocky smile on his face seeing the astonished look Kakashi was wearing. "Looks like your surprised or something..." Slowly Naruto withdrew his sword from Kakashi trying to be careful to no do anymore damage while he backed away.

Kakashi was in a state of shock. Naruto had just taken that hit. He was sure he could have moved away and just been nicked. Instead he took it just so he could end the match with a thrust of his own sword. Kakashi could feel his lung filling with blood and knew he only had another moment or two before he would pass out from blood lose and pain. _'Damn, it feels like he he shredded my insides were he hit.'_ Smiling he allowed himself to fall to the ground and lose consciousness. Looks like the student had finally surpassed him.

Hinata was wide eyed and frantic. She had immediately started running to the arena floor after seeing Naruto hit and the large amount of blood that flew from the wound as as a result. She had seen Kakashi hit and fall to the ground but it looked like he would be ok and had taken less damage. Naruto, shortly after seeing Kakashi fall finally allowed the pain to overcome him and collapse himself. Hinata was just barely able to catch him before hit the hard ground. However, now that she was close and could see the damage done to him she was panicked. The wound didn't appear that bad from a distance but up close you could see that Kakashi's blade had started making a deep cut to start and only got a little shallower by the end. She could clearly see his cleanly cut muscle tissue and near the end the bones of his rib cage and collar bone. Naruto was only standing by sheer force of will at the end of the match she thought.

"Naruto!!!..." Hinata was flashing through hand seals and starting to heal her dumb idiot of a fiancé frantically. "When I get you fixed up I'm going to kill you myself for this!"

The crowd was having very varying reactions. All but a few were astonished by the end. Everyone had seen Kakashi make a shadow clone after the water attack but were unsure as to its purpose when he suddenly went underground. Seeing the attacks that both opponents made at the end made them all go wide eyed. Most were thinking along the lines of, _'I thought they weren't supposed to kill each other.'_ while others couldn't fathom why Naruto had taken the hit. Surely he could have dodged the blow as he had done with earlier ones, so why not this one? Was the drive to win that great?

A few though were genuinely worried for the blond baka. While Kakashi had received nothing but a clean looking piercing through the chest, Naruto had received a very deadly looking upward slash. They thought for a moment he was ok seeing Kakashi collapse while he remained standing. Then, with his collapse and Hinata's cry, several started to make there way to the arena floor.

Hinata spotted out of the corner of her eye some of their friends moving rapidly towards them with Ino in the lead and was worried. While she had been healing Naruto she had literally seen the muscles and tissue start to nit itself back together all along the cut. In fact, what had seemed lethal and probably would have been to a normal person didn't seem all that bad for him. He was already nearly healed and she wasn't sure how to explain it to her friends. Before she could think to tell them to stand back they were already all around.

"Hinata! Is he going to be ok?" asked Ino who was the first to arrive as she had started moving as soon as Naruto and Kakashi had hit each other. She started doing her own hand seals and moved to check Naruto and see how she could assist when she noticed his already accelerated healing. "Hinata?"

The others, which arrived together just a couple of moments after Ino all saw what she was looking at and were confused. They were sure that Hinata was a great med-nin, but not even Tsunade could prompt healing on that scale alone.

"Hinata? Whats going on?" asked Chouji.

Hinata was unsure as to how to respond. She couldn't tell them about the Kyuubi or they might start to hate Naruto. Anyway, it wasn't her secret to tell. If she lied though she was sure that Neji and probably Shikamaru would see through her in a heart beat. She was saved though by the stirring of the person of everybody's interest and concern. "Naruto!" Seeing him trying to rise up Hinata and Ino quickly held him down. "Naruto-kun, you need to rest for a bit long, ok?"

Shaking his head, Naruto tried to rise again only to be stopped. "Hinata-chan, Ino, I'm fine. Or at least I'm ok enough to get up."

Hinata wasn't happy about this. "Uzumaki Naruto! You listen to me right now! I am a fully qualified med-nin under Tsunade. If I say to rest a bit more and not move you will listen to me or I might just have to injure you to make you rest!"

Hearing this everyone took a small involuntary step back with the exception of Ino (who expect the reaction from her friend) and Naruto who was being pinned by Ino and Hinata. "O-Ok Hinata..... Y-Y-You win....."

With a smile Hinata leaned in and whispered so that only Naruto could hear her. "Just remember that I'm always right. After all, we will be married soon and everyone knows that the husband is always wrong whilst the wife is always correct." With that she gently planted a kiss on his cheek only to see his smile before returning to her examination of him.

By this time Kakashi had been removed from the field by a med-nin team and Tsunade had stepped over to the group surrounding Naruto. Seeing that he was almost completely healed and only had a very shallow wound left, Tsunade turned to her student. "Well Hinata, I'm impressed. I would have never thought that you could heal him up so fast. I might even say that you did better than I would have."

"Excuse me Hokage-sama."

"Yes Neji?"

"While Hinata was healing Naruto and no doubt helped him greatly everyone here should agree that it appeared as if Naruto was healing quiet a bit on his own." After stating this most everyone nodded in agreement before turning a questioning gaze once again onto Naruto.

Tsunade had figured that the healing was probably because of the Kyuubi and knew that Hinata hadn't healed him completely on her own. She was just hoping to divert attention to Hinata and away from Naruto as she had arrived to see their questioning gazes. Seeing as how that wouldn't work she knew that at least in Shikamaru and Neji's cases they wouldn't be satisfied until they knew the truth. -Sigh- "I guess I have some explaining to do then. If thats ok with you Naruto?"

"Actually..." Naruto was allowed to sit up with Hinata helping him by placing an arm around his back for support. Naruto nervously started to scratch the back of his head and laugh a bit. "I don't mind you telling them...." Tsunade smiled at this. "But thats not the only secret that I now have...... In fact, its probably not all that important now...."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed at this. "What do you mean?"

Naruto flinched under Tsunade's gaze. "Ummm..... Can we all go back to the Hokage's mansion first?"

Seeing Tsunade's nod of affirmation everyone, the Konoha 11, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and Iruka, left towards the Hokage's mansion.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

I'm very sorry this took so very long to publish. I really don't have a good excuse for this. Otherwise, I hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter and I'm sorry if the fight sucked. This was the first real fight I wrote and didn't want it to last to long as I didn't think it should. I also want to start moving the story along a little bit starting after the next couple of chapters. Speak of which the secret is finally set to come out next chapter. Will everyone be as accepting as Hiashi was? For that matter, what is the secret? And who was Kiba talking to?

This is a list of the jutsus and sword techniques used in this chapter. I will not list or fully explain all Sword techniques but I will give a short description of anything custom done. As for the others I will just be listing the English names of the attacks from which you should be able to get an idea as to what it is if you couldn't figure it out in the reading.

Jutsu List:

**Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu**: Great Fireball Technique

**Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu**: Water Shark Projectile Technique

**Kuzu-ryusen**: Nine-headed Dragon Strike

**Chakra in the Sword**: Able to channel wind chakra into his sword Naruto can us it to create a wave of cutting wind. While not effect as an offensive toll at long range, it can be used defensively to deflect some jutsu attacks by splitting them. He can also rotate non-wind chakra along the edge that, while not offensive in nature, always for easier deflection.


	5. Secrets Revealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any Anime for that matter. Oh well.

A/N: If you are a Sasuke or Kiba fan, this chapter might not be for you.... Or this story for that matter, sorry.

**Chapter 5 – Secrets Revealed**

-Sigh- Naruto was not happy right now. It wasn't that he was particularly upset, he had just wanted to delay letting this little bit of information out if he could. He would have settled for keeping his secret for even a few more days or at least getting to reveal it in his own method. Now though, all the people that he called friends or respected him were sitting around his, no correction (for now), the Hokage's living room waiting to here the big reveal. When his gaze landed on Hiashi he was surprised to see that he was giving him a small, but noticeable, smile of encouragement. Finally looking into Hinata's eyes one could see that, while she was curious to see what he meant by having a bigger secret, she also would support him and love him no matter the news. He just wasn't sure were to start.

Tsunade, sensing that Naruto was uncomfortable and unsure of himself decided to kick off the big reveal. "Thank you everyone for coming here this afternoon. I know some of you probably have other places you'd rather be, but trust me when I say this is important..... Tell me, do any of you (gesturing to the younger ones present) know when Naruto's birthday is? Expect you Hinata, I know you know."

Ino smiled slightly to herself. She knew when his birthday was as she had been helping Hinata plan for his party. She had been surprised to hear that it was on the same day as the Kyuubi attack. Finding out that he had also never had a real party was a little bit of a shock until she thought that he had probably just always gone to the festival. "I know Hokage-sama..." Ino failed to notice Tsunade's slight twitch at the title. She really didn't like being called that while in her own house. "Its in a few days on October 10th. Why?"

Naruto took this as his chance to finally speak up. "Tell me Ino, what happened on that day besides my birth?"

"The Kyuubi attacked the village and the Yondaime Hokage died killing it? Why do you ask?"

Hearing this most everyone is sporting faces that show confusion. A few though are already thinking, trying to figure out where this is leading. Neji is the first to realize the answer. It came to him after he remembered his first Chunin exams and what Naruto had said to him about burdens and marks. _'Naruto..... How?... How could you live with this horrible of a mark?... At least that does answer my long standing question on what that _red_ chakra was.'_

Shikamaru was sure he was close to the answer but was lacking some key clue, a piece of the puzzle, that would make it all come together. _'Naruto was born the day of the Kyuubi attack... Yondaime died that day fighting off the demon... Naruto has a secret that must be related to that day... And its related to his fast healing... Then again, today he healed fast even by his standards... Naruto... Kyuubi... Yondaime... Healing... Its all tied together... Wait! The birthmarks! They look like whiskers! Could Naruto be the Kyuubi?... No... That couldn't be it... He's to nice and fun loving to be a demon and the village Shinobi would have killed him already... He must be a container for it like the Kazekage is over in Suna with the Ichibi.'_

Naruto was watching them all closely before continuing. He had noticed that Neji had suddenly become saddened and seemed to look at Naruto with a bit of pity. He would have to fix that and nip that problem in the bud. Naruto really didn't like pity, especially from his friends. Shikamaru had figured it out too he guessed. Naruto had noticed a brief look of almost panic before his gaze turned to understanding. Looks like he had at least two people out of those present on his side. The rest still seemed to either be confused or contemplating it all.

The sensei's had been paying attention to everyone from the beginning having already known about Naruto's big secret with the Kyuubi. They had come for two reasons, to see their students reactions and to hear what this new secret was. So far Gai and Asuma were proud of what they were seeing in the faces of their students that had figured it out. Though Asuma was concerned for a brief moment when the look of panic had come to Shikamaru's face, he had relaxed seeing it soon disappear. In short, so far so good and hopefully, if the two were anything to judge by, it would continue to go smoothly the rest of the time.

Tsunade once again saw that Naruto wasn't in any kind of hurry and she took the initiative to start conversation back up. "The Kyuubi wasn't killed by the Yondaime... As no mortal had ever been able to defeat, let alone kill, a Bijuu he did the next best thing.... He sealed it into a new born baby..... Where it remains to this day locked aw-"

"I need to interrupt there Baachan as your information is a little outdated." Seeing Tsunade's confused look as well as everyone else's Naruto wasted no time in clearing it up. "While its true that the Kyuubi WAS sealed away into a newborn child, its not true that it remains there to this day." -Smirk-

Tsunade was now concerned. "...Naruto... What do you mean?... Whats happened to the seal?!"

By now everybody there had figured out what they were talking about and knew that Naruto was the kid. It explained everything really in their minds. Several of them remembered noticing some hateful glares while walking around the village with Naruto before he left. More importantly, who could forget the mob that awaited him after retrieving Sasuke. While they hadn't been there to see it, with the exception of Sakura and Hinata, they had all heard about it and knew what happened. Though most of them had forgiven Sakura by this time for her part in it, a few, including Ino and Hinata, just couldn't forgive and forget so easily even if it had been three years now.

Seeing that Tsunade was worried that the Kyuubi had escaped and was going to seek its revenge, Naruto figured that it might be the appropriate time to reveal everything he knew. "There's no need to worry Granny, the Kyuubi isn't coming back to destroy Konoha. ...Seeing as everyone else seems to have figured it out now, yes, I am the former Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune." With this being said Naruto gave a small bow of the head and a grandiose wave of the hand like he was bowing on stage after a grand performance.

Now everyone was confused except for Hiashi. He was currently standing in the far back corner of the room with a, for a Hyuuga, large smile adorning his face. Since nobody could see his face he figured that he had no reason to keep his usually stoic look up. Naruto had already informed him of this the other day and imagined his face must of looked something like theirs do now. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces whenever Naruto finished revealing the rest.

Hinata was the first to recover and asked the question on nearly everyones minds. "Naruto-kun, what do you mean former?..." She hesitated for a second, not wishing to say the next thing for fear of what it meant. "I didn't think it could be removed without killing you."

Smiling brightly at Hinata and everyone else, Naruto couldn't wait to see their what their faces would look like in a moment. "Your right, it can't be _'removed' _without killing me. However, it can be _'used up'_ as it were." Everyone, upon hearing about _'using up'_ the Kyuubi let their jaws slacken, if ever so slightly. From Naruto's perspective Neji's expression was probably the best. It just screamed of utter confusion, a look that Naruto had never seen on the prodigy's face before. "Let me first ask a question... Where is the Kyuubi's body?"

Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow at the question. "We would assume it was sealed within you, but since your asking the question we can assume it wasn't... Correct?"

Naruto smiled, leave it to Shikamaru to figure it out. "Right!... Anyone want to try to ask me a question then about it?"

Sakura, from her point near the back spoke up, although it sounded very meek. The entire time she had been feeling out of place and worse about her past treatment of Naruto. "Was it ever sealed in you Naruto?"

Naruto gave her a look for second that said they would talk later before responding. "Nope."

Hinata noticed the quick exchange and decided she would question Naruto about it later. '_Perhaps he is going to forgive her... Maybe its time I did as well.....'_

"But... The body of the Kyuubi disappeared that night and has never been seen since. It disappeared at the same time as the flash of light signifying the sealing." asked Iruka was just as confused as everyone else by this point. As he had been dragged away he had seen the light in the distance signifying the sealing of the Kyuubi and then it was gone, no body.

"Actually that flash of light shouldn't have been there since I wasn't present. I was in a chamber in the Hokage tower at the time awaiting the rituals completion... The fact is that that flash was from another sealing taking place. Normally the seal used leaves a body behind and only takes the soul. The body is dead and decayed from the forcible removal of the soul, but still there should be some evidence. Look at the snake faced teme. After his arms were sealed he couldn't hardly move them and they were highly damaged but still present on his body. Not wanting to leave a body for someone like Orochimaru-teme to experiment on Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi's body into himself thus requiring another person for the soul and chakra. Everyone following me so far?"

Those that knew about the Shiki Fuujin (Corpse Spirit Sealing Method) understood that the body of the caster and target always remained. They had all been there when they buried the Sandaime Hokage and a few knew that Orochimaru did still have his arms when he fled the battle. It had never occurred to them though to think about the Kyuubi and the lack of remains in its case. The majority of the rooms occupants weren't alive at the time to have seen it themselves or didn't know enough about the jutsu at the time. Those that had been there immediately started to think about the nights events again. None of them had ever thought about it before but now realized the truth. Naruto was correct. There should have been some for of evidence left behind even if his body had decayed instantly to ash or something else. But there hadn't been anything, not a single hair or jar of ash.

Naruto, seeing that everyone either had a look of understanding or one that said they at least grasped the idea, proceeded with his explanation. "Now, something else everyone should know is that the Kyuubi isn't entirely evil...."

"NANI!!?!?!" Chorused from just about everyone in the room.

-Smile- "Don't get me wrong, he was a bastard kitsune and was pissed about the sealing. It just so happens that he didn't kill needlessly usually. He came to Konoha because of the Uchiha's. Now, before someone says something, they didn't summon him or anything. No, Uchiha Madara was the one that summoned him to this plain of existence years ago to fight the Shodai Hokage for him. He came here for the current Uchiha's because he could sense a great evil building within them. Normally the Kyuubi would have let it go, but since this evil was born of traitorous intent and was highly focused he was drawn to it...... Questions?"

Surprising a few people it was Shikamaru who spoke up first, again. "What do you mean, '_traitorous intent and was highly focused'_?" At this Tsunade was slightly nervous. "Also, '_this plain of existence'_?"

"The fur-ball (snickers from Hinata and Tsunade) just said that he could feel the evil generated by them and that it was of a traitorous feel. -Shrug- Other wise, I don't know. Now, the second answer is easy! Kyuubi was, and still is, a demon and the leader of the Bijuu. The Bijuu were not just giant masses of chakra that somehow came to life or forces of nature. No they were all from hell originally like any demon would be. They were just summoned to this plain and Kyuubi was the overseer of the 9th circle of hell, the home to betrayers."

"So essentially they were just summons correct?" Shikamaru knew he was leaving something out. After getting a partial nod from Naruto, he continued. "Ok... A summons though only has so much chakra, so why did the Bijuu never return to the summons plain?... Well, I guess in their case Hell."

"That would be true if they were like normal summons. But who ever said they were like your normal summons?" Naruto grinned widely at the look of frustration that appeared on several people's faces. "Ok... They were originally thought to be the _'ultimate'_ summons. Reason? They would have enormous amounts of chakra because they, unlike say the toads, can regenerate chakra on the battlefield like a human. Also, once summoned they were unable to self dismiss mean they couldn't abandon you in the middle of the fight. The only way for them to return to Hell was to either be defeated and run out of chakra or be dismissed by the original summoner. Obviously the Kyuubi was never dismissed by Madara since the fur-ball attacked us. He, along with the other Bijuu were essentially trapped on this plain."

Shino decided to take a turn and speak up. "Naruto?... You stated that the Kyuubi was, _'used up', _and thus gone. If it could regenerate its chakra, then how did you use it up?"

Naruto waited a second to see if anyone would figure it out first. "It couldn't regenerate its chakra.... Could it?" Shikamaru thought he had it figured out finally. After seeing Naruto nod an affirmative, he continued with his theory. "Thats another reason for the sealing of the body. The other container's all have the complete Bijuu sealed inside them, body and all. Thus they are made to be weapons of one sort or another. You though, you didn't have the body sealed inside you because of the type of sealing. Thus, the Kyuubi couldn't regenerate its chakra and would eventually _die_, right?"

-Smile- "Yep! Dad figured something was up for the Kyuubi to attack and also knew a bit of the history behind the Bijuu. As such he wanted to return it to Hell while also saving the village instead of just sealing it away to be used. He could have saved himself if he was to have used a different sealing method but we all know how that turned out." Naruto, after finishing looked around the room and was confused. Hiashi was shaking his head slightly while smiling. Tsunade hands had flown up and covered her face while shaking her head. Neji, Shikamaru, Gai, Kurenai, Asuma, and Iruka were all staring with wide eyes and mouths hanging open.

Hinata, seeing Naruto's growing confusion, gently turned his head to face her while cupping it with both her hands. "Naruto...... -Sigh- You don't realize what you just let slip do you?" Seeing him even more confused she gently kissed him on the forehead. -Sigh- "At least your my baka...."

"Naruto?" After Hinata released his head, he turned towards Tsunade. "While not everyone here has figured it out, you let slip who was your father."

Naruto paled. That wasn't supposed to happen until later that week during the festival and his birthday. Ino did catch his slip looked to Shikamaru and her sensei for an answer. "Who was his father?"

Asuma was stunned and didn't even register Ino's question for a moment. "Why didn't we see it before?....."

Ino was now a little upset at being ignored. "See what?"

Finally turning to his student Asuma answered. "Remove the whisker marks and who does he look like?"

Hearing this everyone who hadn't caught on did as he said. "Lets see.... Blond, spiky hair with deep blue eyes..... -Giggle- If I didn't know better I would say that he looks a lot like a... miniature... Yondaime?! Your father was the YONDAIME!?!!?!"

Everyone had to cover their ears at Ino's loud proclamation. "I guess the cats out of the bag now. Allow me to introduce myself...." Naruto stood up from his seat facing the group then gave a small bow. "My name is Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto, son of the Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato, and his wife Uzumaki Kushina." Naruto loved seeing the awestruck faces of his friends and seated himself. Not before noticing though that Sakura had started to cry silently to herself from her spot. '_I hope that she understood that I wanted to talk to her later. I don't like holding grudges and she needs to be forgiven so she can forgive herself. She must feel awful right now...'_

Naruto was right. Sakura had caught the slip immediately and though she was feeling horrible throughout the entire time she was now downright devastated. Not only had she treated Naruto poorly and like most of the village had no real reason, she had done it to a hero and, as it turned out, a hero's son. She had wanted to forgive herself and move on but it hadn't happened yet. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. Now she knew better, but it was a hard lesson that day...

_-Flashback, 3 years ago-_

"_Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out to her beloved as she entered his room at the hospital. She had at first feared that the Hokage would put guards up around his room that wouldn't let her in. 'Seems she now understands how important and great Sasuke-kun really is!' Entering the room though she realized her mistake in that thought. Sasuke was tied down to the bed and unable to move. The bindings had some form of seal on them so that she would be unable to loosen them. They didn't trust him or anyone else. They just didn't need any guards to watch him either._

_It was as Sakura approached his bed that she started to have a nagging feeling in the back of her head. It was just a slight sensation at first, but the closer she moved to Sasuke's bed the stronger it felt. Suddenly, the bindings on Sasuke disappeared and his battered form was replaced by a body of a dead ANBU. _'Genjutsu!'_ Before she could scream out a hand wrapped around her mouth from behind and clamped down hard to keep her quiet. "Now now Sakura, we wouldn't want to alert anybody to my escaping quiet yet now would we?"_

_Hearing that it was her Sasuke behind her she instantly calmed down and, feeling his grip loosen turned to face him. "Oh Sasuke-kun!" Instantly Sakura noticed that, while his clothing was still torn, he was healed and in perfectly fine health. She also quickly noticed the bodies of 2 other ANBU in the room on the floor and several Oto shinobi. "S-s-sasuke.... W-whats going on?..."_

_-Smirk- "Why Sakura, I'm leaving. It seems that Orochimaru-sama really does value me and thus sent his right hand man, Kabuto, to come and escort me back." Sasuke was loving the feeling he was getting from Sakura right now. The pure fear that was starting to roll off her._

"_S-s-sasuke... W-w-w-why would y-you want to g-go wi-with them..." Sakura saw the look of pure satisfaction on Sasuke's face and for the first time ever started to get afraid of him._

_Sasuke gave a single hand command and the Oto-nin's quickly grabbed Sakura and gagged her while binding her feet. "Now now Sakura-_chan_, we can't have you yelling or screaming out for people to try to stop us... Not yet at least." Sasuke moved closer to her and grabbed her shoulders to ensure she wouldn't fall now that her arms were bound and whispered in her ear. "Mmmm.... You really do smell good... To bad you aren't very strong or good looking. I mean, who would want someone that looks like you?" Reaching down he took a hold of one of her budding breast and gave it a none to gentle squeeze. "I mean, you don't even have a chest to look at really..."_

_Sakura was now in tears. Sasuke had had her bound and then insulted her before roughly grabbing her and squeezing. She was now not only humiliated but also in a small amount of pain._

"_Aww... You know, if you promise to cry and stutter like you were a moment ago, I might give you the gift of me having my way with you..... I always did have a thing for the incredible strong... or the incredible weak like Hinata-_chan_... I wonder what she's hiding under that coat..."_

_Sakura was now starting to struggle. She might not have been the best of friends with Hinata, but now Sasuke was threatening not only her, but Hinata too. And the way he kept adding 'chan' to their names was downright creepy and making her skin crawl._

_It was then that the room door opened and, before anyone could react a nurse stepped in. "Excuse me ABNU-san I need...." Looking up from her chart while standing in the door-way, the nurse finally sees the bodies and Oto-nin. "AHHHHhhh... -Gurggle-" To late an Oto-nin sliced her throat and pulled her into the room._

"_Sasuke-san, we should be going now. Someone is bound to have heard that." Spoke Kabuto from his silent spot in the corner._

_Sasuke stepped back from Sakura slightly while shaking his head. "Sorry Sakura-_chan_, I guess we'll have to cut this ever so romantic encounter short." Rearing back his fist Sasuke sucker punched Sakura in the stomach, causing her to double over to the ground in pain. "I hope it was as good for you as it was for me..."_

_The last thing Sakura would see before losing consciousness was the retreating form of Sasuke stepping over the freshly dead body of a middle aged female nurse who's look of horror and terror would forever be etched on her face, and now forever in Sakura's mind._

_-End Flashback-_

After that day Sakura had spent a lot of time reviewing the past and what she had done. The other rookies all treated her like dirt following for quiet some time after hearing about the gate incident. It wasn't until later when, after some long thinking and introspective, Sakura came to the conclusion that she was and always had been in the wrong and needed to apologize. Most of the rookies forgave her after the apology and a few even felt for her after hearing rumors about what happened in the hospital room. The one person whose forgiveness mattered the most though, Naruto, wasn't around to grant it to her or the peace that would have come with it. Now though she was certain that she didn't deserve another chance. If he never forgave her, then she would forever lose not only her Teammate and second closest friend, but her closest...

_-Flashback, 1 year ago-_

_Sakura had been trying her hardest to get forgiveness now from everyone. Choji had forgiven her quickly being a gentle and good person at heart. Tenten, Lee, Neji, Shino, and the sensei's had forgiven her as soon as they could tell she meant it. Iruka had forgiven her after she had apologized from the heart and even talked about the incident in the Hospital room with her. Shikamaru gave in finally saying it was just to troublesome having her always seek his forgiveness and Kiba did after she agreed to a date... That had been a mistake on her part (the date) but at least everyone had forgiven her... Well almost everyone._

_Ino and Hinata, who had grown close together for some reason that she didn't know about, had yet to forgive her and had refused to speak to her. Sakura had been greatly saddened by this since she figured Ino, being a former fan-girl and her best friend would have understood at least a little and forgiven her much easier and sooner. Deciding that she was going to get them to at least speak to her, she was now making her way towards Ichiraku Ramen, where Ino and Hinata like to have lunch on Saturdays. This time they would talk to her._

_Maybe 10 minutes after she arrived Sakura spotted Ino and Hinata approaching from the direction of the training fields. Steeling her resolve she approached them._

"_Ino... Hinata...?"_

_Both of them turned towards the person that interrupted their conversation. Neither one wanted to talk to Sakura at that moment. For that matter, they were both content to not talk to her again for quiet a while more._

_Seeing that they were prepared to just walking on past and ignore her like usual Sakura stepped in front of them and continued to block their path. "Please... I'm just asking you to hear me out and speak to me just this once... If for no other reason then eventually we might go on a mission together and we would have to speak to each other then."_

_Hinata wasn't in a good mood now. Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to leave them be this time she decided to speak. "What do you want banshee?" She hadn't heard from Naruto in over a month and Tsunade hadn't had anything to report either. Ino and her had been training to work off the worry and now they were going to have ramen before she interrupted. _

_Sakura was still a little surprised and stung by Hinata's name for her. Not long after the _'incident'_ Hinata's confidence seemed to sky-rocket. She wasn't sure if it was because of Tsunade or the rumor she had heard of her spending a lot of time with a certain blond-haired teen before he left. Then again, it could also be a result of hanging around Ino which had started not long following that._

"_Spill it Forehead, we just got done working off some steam and would like to eat sometime today and you're in the way." Ino had crossed her arms and started to tap her foot._

_Sakura could feel herself wilting under their combined gaze. "Well.... I was wondering if maybe I could..... Treat you to lunch as.... Well, a sort of peace offering?" Sakura lowered her head to them at the end._

_Both girls, deep down, wanted to forgive the young women in front of them... They had both heard the rumors of what had happened in the Hospital over the month following Sasuke's second betrayal and both wanted to be there for her. But neither could, not yet. _

"_Sakura, if you wish to gain or forgiveness there something you must do first. You have to not only prove that you are truly sorry but you must also seek Naruto-kun's forgiveness. I know that just about everyone else has forgiven you but I can't forgive you until Naruto-kun does." Hinata hated doing it but she couldn't allow herself to forgive her until Naruto had done the same._

"_Forehead... I hate to say this, but the same goes for me." Ino hated saying it, but after hearing from Hinata what had happened to Naruto his entire life and how Sakura had treated him she just couldn't forgive him until he had forgiven her first._

"_What can I do then? Please?! Tell me! Naruto isn't here right now and I need you Ino to be my friend again." Sakura couldn't take it, she had a few tears running down her cheeks and was desperate. "Hinata, I want to get to know you better! I want to be there with you and have someone to talk with."_

"_Sakura..." It tore at both of them seeing her like this. Both of them were very kind deep down. While Ino had affected Hinata's confidence, Hinata had made Ino more sensitive to others. They truly had been a good influence on each other. However, they wouldn't forgive her until she proved she was worthy and Naruto forgave her as well. "Sakura... we know that you only want to be forgiven to ease your conscience. If you are really remorseful for your actions then you would change. But you don't."_

"_We can't believe that you want forgiveness because you still act the same way. I know that the others have forgiven you, but we cannot. As far as we can tell you are still a whiny little girl playing ninja. Even now you come to us begging forgiveness when you should be earning it. You still want to have everything handed to you." Hinata knew it needed to be said. True, Sakura had been changing, but not enough. Once Naruto forgave her and she could see for herself that she was trying... Then it would be time. "We're sorry, but if you would please excuse us our lunch is awaiting."_

_-End Flashback-_

Sakura had devoted herself after that day to training. She had finally passed the Chunin exams a couple of months prior and knew that she had finally earned Ino and Hinata's respect. How? Simple, while neither one would speak more than a few lines to her they had started to exchange pleasantry's again. That was a far step up from being completely ignored. They had even congratulated her after her promotion. Sakura had finally believed she was ready to talk to Naruto and finally get his forgiveness and in to process gain her two friends back (Naruto and Ino) and hopefully make a new one. Now she wondered just how worth she really was... Sakura finally broke out of her thoughts and realized Naruto was still talking.

"...so everyone, you can't tell anyone about my parentage. At least, not yet. That will be revealed on my birthday in a few days to the entire village." Seeing that everyone, except Sakura, seemed to be nodding in understanding, Naruto proceeded with his tale about the Kyuubi. "Well now, where was I.... I guess I should now explain how the Kyuubi used up all his powers. Throughout my entire life the Kyuubi had been healing me to keep me from dieing using his chakra. During my fight with Sasuke (Sakura flinches) he had to use a lot for to not only keep up, but also to heal me. During out last confrontation Sasuke and I charged once more with our ultimate moves, the Rasengan and Chidori. I.... I pulled back at the last second not wanting to kill Sasuke. He on the other hand didn't care and put another hole in my chest..."

Several of the rookies who hadn't seen Naruto the day of the retrieval and didn't know how he looked when he returned gasped. They all knew it was a long and hard fight, but several of them had never thought that Sasuke would actually do something like put a hole in Naruto's chest.

"The Kyuubi healed me once again... By this time Sasuke was getting exhausted and I was able to, with an incomplete Rasengan, knock him out. It torn his clothes pretty good but didn't do to much actual damage. The Kyuubi though had had it. He was just barely holding on and was severally weakened from saving me so many times that day. After not hearing from him for 2 months I decided to visit the seal to check on him. When I arrived he was on the ground panting hard and looking mangy. Thats when he informed me of everything and how he was going to be gone very soon." Naruto allowed a lone tear to escape his eye after he finished. He hadn't realized it until that day, but the Kyuubi, no matter what he said, had at least always been there for him.

"Now, I'm sure your all curious about my healing, yes?... Well, the Kyuubi left me with a gift. Not only have my chakra reserves been permanently expanded by his being in me, but he _trained_ my chakra over the years to heal me in his place after he was gone. So, in short, as long as I have chakra I can heal myself at an increased rate... That doesn't mean I can heal anything of course or heal them instantly. The cut wasn't as bad as it looked so it healed very rapidly..."

"And you hardly used any chakra kicking Kakashi-san's ass..." Neji suddenly looked a little sheepish realizing what he just said out loud. "Sorry...." This got a small chuckle from everyone there.

-Smile- "As I was saying... If it was something more severe, or I didn't have much chakra, then all I could do is delay my bleeding and hope that help arrives soon. Otherwise, I would either run out of chakra or bleed to death." Naruto was happy. Throughout the entire time he had feared someone would reject him or yell at him. So far nothing of the sort had happened and this pleased him greatly and surprised him in a very good way. "Any other questions?"

Seeing everyone just look at each other for a moment and not coming up with anything else to say or ask currently, Tsunade decided to speak up. "Ok, now that that is settled, everyone I would like to invite you all to stay and hang out for a little while. Naruto, I expect a full written briefing in the morning about your new abilities and what you can handle and cannot. Also, I want all the Senseis to come by my office tomorrow morning at 9 am, we have some things to discuss." Seeing everyone indicate that they understood she motioned for them all to relax and get to talking.

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

As soon as Tsunade had finished talking Sakura had, as discreetly as possible, disappeared out of the room slowly making her way out the front. She knew she would have to talk to Naruto eventually, but she just couldn't do it right now. She was afraid of what she might or might not say or do should she talk to him in her current state. Naruto would forgive her, she was fairly sure of that. But did she deserve his forgiveness?

So lost in her thoughts, Sakura hadn't noticed that she had moved off the Hokage's property and was slowly wandering around the edge of the village in the training areas. She was finally pulled from her thoughts when she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. Instantly she pulled away from who ever had had the gale to put their arm around her shoulder and looked up. It was Kiba.

"Awe, come on now Sakura-chan... Don't be that way. You looked so sad and down I thought that I might cheer you up!" Kiba said all the while looking her up and down like a piece of meat. '_Not bad... Not as good as Hinata-chan, but still worth a good fuck.'_

Seeing his lecherous grin and the way he was eyeballing her, Sakura was getting nervous. While it was true she had been training harder over the last year she also knew that she couldn't beat Kiba in a straight out fight. '_Crap... How long was I just walking around and thinking?'_ "I'm sorry Kiba, but I don't have any time for you right now, I have a lot on my mind and don't want any company."

Kiba, seeing that Sakura was starting to slowly back away towards one of the paths that lead back to the town proper, knew he had to act. Moving swiftly he rushed at Sakura and knocked her down to the ground before he pinning her down. "Now come on Sakura, here I go out of my way to try to cheer you up by offering my company, and you turn me down? Is that any way to treat a friend?"

"Kiba! We haven't been FRIENDS ever since we went on that stupid date! Now get off me RIGHT NOW!" Sakura was now struggling with Kiba but to no success. No matter the training, Kiba was just stronger and faster than her. Worse yet, she was now pinned beneath him.

Right as Kiba was about to respond he stopped short and his eye's bugged out at the feeling of something very sharp poking him down below. "Kiba, it would be wise of you to get up off the young Kunoichi and let her be."

As Kiba slowly rose up, careful to not move to fast for fear of injuring something precious to him, Sakura was able to finally get a glimpse of her savior.... -Gasp-

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

_-Hokage Mansion, Short while before-_

Naruto and his friends had all been talking for a little bit now when he finally decided it was time to talk to Sakura. Hinata saw that Naruto was looking for something and casually strolled up beside him looping their arms. "Hey there handsome, something I can help you find."

Naruto looked down at the young and beautiful Hyuuga who had just came up to him. "Maybe...." Naruto smiled gently at his beloved Hinata. "Hime, you wouldn't happen to know where Sakura is would you?"

Hearing that he was looking for Sakura caused Hinata's face to drop just a little. "Her?" Seeing his nod she sighed. Hinata wasn't looking forward to this. She knew Naruto well enough to know that he would forgive her and would probably be a little upset at them (Ino and her) for not doing the same yet. "Well, I haven't seen her since the conversation dealing with the Kyuubi ended. Maybe Ino saw where she went."

Slowly, arm in arm, the couple made there way over to Ino who was sharing a drink with Tsunade over at a small bar in the corner of the dinning room. "Ino! I hope you haven't gotten to drunk yet with Granny to help me with something yet." Tsunade, to her credit, only threw a glare, and not the whole bar, at Naruto for the Granny comment. His response? "You know you love me Granny Tsunade...."

-Sigh- "What ever gaki..."

Ino and Hinata just smiled at the small exchange. They really did act like family. "No Naruto-kun, I'm not to drunk yet... What do you and Hinata need?"

"I need to find Sakura Ino. I was hoping you would either know where she was or at least when she might have left."

Ino thought for a moment. She knew that Sakura had been there the entire time up until Tsunade beckoned them to relax, after that, she really didn't know. Seeing that Hinata was going with him though, she figured she might want to tag along in finding her too. "Not sure, sorry Naruto-kun... Sakura and I haven't really gotten along in the last couple of years. I'll come along though to find her."

Naruto was confused, weren't they the friends even if they were rivals? "Why Ino? What happened? Why haven't you gotten along with her?"

"Neither of us have Naruto-kun..." Turning he could tell that Hinata was nervous about what she was about to say. "Neither of us have forgiven her completely yet for what happened before you left and how she treated you. It wasn't until this last year that she finally started showing, to us at least, that she really meant it when she said she was sorry by changing. We told her though we couldn't forgive her until you did Naruto-kun....." Hinata looked up into Naruto's face after finishing. She really was worried that he would be upset with her. Seeing his look of concentration worried her more. "You're not upset are you Naruto-kun... I mean, I would understand...."

Hearing that Naruto's head snapped up. "What?... No! No! Of course I'm not upset at you Hinata-hime! I love you and couldn't be mad. I wish you and Ino had forgiven her, but I guess I can understand where you were coming from." He then turned his gaze to the nervous looking Ino. "As for you I guess thats understandable too since you and Hime seem so close now."

Hinata and Ino both looked happier hearing this come from Naruto. Both had expected him to be a little upset, but he wasn't. Looking back at it though they realized Naruto would never be upset with them, well, with Hinata at least. She had his whole heart and it was to full of love for her to hold any room for anger. Ino was just lucky that she had Hinata to hide behind this time.

"We'll both go with you Naruto-kun. I think all 3 of us should probably go and talk to her... Don't you agree Hinata?" Ino smiled at Hinata who was smiling back.

"Yes, lets go and try to find her right now and talk about this. I think its time for everything to be settled."

With that Ino, Hinata, and Naruto all left discreetly as possible from the mansion and started making their way towards Konoha. Naruto and Hinata smiling hand in hand with Ino following slightly behind...

**X X X X X X X X X X X X**

A/N:

Sorry guys that this one took so long. I meant to have this out a couple of weeks ago because I now have a time line set up for when I would like the first part of the this story done by. However, a few parts were hard for me to write and caused some hang ups. Hope this answered some questions although you probably have even more now. Please be patient though because most of them will probably be answered. If you want though you can post them in your reviews and you might, MIGHT, get a response like those down below.

Hope you all enjoyed it this chapter though. Please review it.

Response to Reviews:

**cratbro**: I know about that. I just choose for this story that, while it did still feed it some (why his clothing was still burned along the edges) it could still deflect (in a manner of speaking) it enough to not be a direct hit. Otherwise, thanks for the review.

**Nebula1701**: Sorry, but for now Kiba is a bastard. Take heart in knowing that I don't hate him as a character or anything, I could just see him going this route (possibly) given past events. Sorry, but thanks for the review.

**GraityTheWizard**: He'll get his reward soon enough...

Thanks to everyone else who reviewed, it is appreciated and welcomed.

Next time: Who is it that saved Sakura? Was it Naruto and company or someone else?


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